Michael Houston, 43, has been promoted to global president of Grey, reporting to James R. Heekin III, chairman/CEO of Grey Group. Houston served most recently as CEO of Grey North America.
In his expanded new worldwide leadership role, Houston will work closely with Heekin in the management of Grey's EMEA, Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions, while continuing to oversee North American operations.
"Michael Houston has played a pivotal role in the ongoing success of Grey North America, which just completed its seventh year of record new business and creative performance," Heekin said. "Together we have built a culture of innovation with the finest talent, integrated offering and a winning spirit second to none. This well-deserved promotion, the next step in our evolution, will enable Michael to extend his proven leadership across our global network in the years ahead."
Houston joined Grey New York, the global network's flagship headquarters office, in 2007 as executive VP, director of marketing, to lead Grey's business development and brand marketing efforts. He was promoted to global chief marketing officer of Grey worldwide in 2010 in recognition of Grey's growth. Appointed to the new position of managing director of Grey New York in 2011, Houston took on the role of COO of the 1,000-person strong office in 2012.
One year later, Houston was promoted to CEO of Grey North America overseeing the New York, San Francisco and Canadian offices as well as Grey Activation and PR, and Wing, the multicultural marketing communications agency. Under his leadership, Grey has won such blue-chip clients as Gillette, Volvo, Hasbro, Papa John's, Kellogg's and Marriott.
Houston said, "I am energized by, and grateful for, this new challenge and the opportunity to work even more closely with Jim Heekin and our leaders across the world. As we approach our 100th anniversary, I look forward to capitalizing on our momentum and the tremendous potential and vitality of the Grey brand as we look to the future."
Grey's recent high-profile new business wins have included: AT&T/DIRECTV, Emirates Airlines, Pandora Jewelry, Procter & Gamble's Venus, Braun and the Art of Shaving lines, Motorola and significant assignments from Nestlé, GSK, Volvo, Best Buy and Vodafone.
