Twice crowned as the advertising industry’s “Number One Media Agency Leader” by Campaign Magazine, Josh Krichefski is CEO of GroupM EMEA and the U.K. where he leads more than 16,000 people passionate about making advertising work better for people. A member of GroupM’s Global Leadership Team and a key player in maintaining the company’s role as the leading media investment organization throughout EMEA, Krichefski partners closely with agency and GroupM leadership throughout the region, harnessing GroupM’s scale to deliver more powerful and innovative media solutions for clients across markets and cultures.
With $22 billion in media investment billings across 41 markets, GroupM owns a 32% market share in one of the world’s largest regions. Josh was previously Global COO of the newly formed EssenceMediacom, where he led the merger focusing on culture, people, product, client growth and revolutionizing the operating model. He oversaw the agency’s global client practice with hubs in New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, Dusseldorf, Singapore as well as the agency’s marketing function.
Before EssenceMediacom, Josh was MediaCom’s Global COO and EMEA CEO where he oversaw 4,400 people across 37 offices, driving the vision, culture and growth of the agency for the region. He has extensive experience with independent organizations as well as in holding groups and has held senior management positions at global, regional and local levels.
He is well known for his focus and determination by his colleagues, competitors, and clients, and balances a drive for performance with a passion for instilling an inclusive and learning culture.
As Global COO and EMEA CEO at MediaCom, Josh introduced numerous programs to improve life at the agency, resulting in the lowest staff churn for years. These include the launch of the Mental Health Allies programs, numerous activities around Pride, the introduction of Empathy Ambassadors, Unconscious Bias Training, Diversity surveys and Conscious Leadership for the top 65 leaders in the business. He also oversaw the launch of a new partnership with Scope to make MediaCom more inclusive.
During his time at the agency, Krichefski accelerated MediaCom’s industry acclaim and prestige, dominating awards honors across the Campaign Media Awards, the Media Week Awards and the IPA Effectiveness Awards. MediaCom UK also won a Cannes Media Lions Grand Prix for Tesco’s “Food Love Stories.” This was a first in the agency’s history. He was a critical driver of MediaCom’s work that led to being crowned Campaign’s Agency of the Decade two decades in a row.
Before joining WPP, Josh worked on the creative agency side, working at St. Luke’s in the early 2000s and then founding his own digital agency before joining BLM in 2006.
Josh is trustee of Transformation Trust, advancing career development opportunities for children from underprivileged backgrounds and a founding member of the World Wellbeing Movement and the MS Society Appeal Board. In the area of mental health, he has created a Manifesto for a new era of mental health in business, working with U.K. government to help businesses manage mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. He’s a Fellow of the Marketing Society and has recently been selected as the next President of the IPA.
A long-suffering Arsenal supporter, Josh grew up in North London where he still lives today with his wife Deb, an architect, and two children Ruby and Leo.