WPP Media hires Orion’s Laura Ryan as chief media officer. She reports to Brian Lesser

Laura Ryan is joining WPP Media as chief media officer, Campaign reported on 30 September. She was most recently global chief executive of Orion Worldwide in New York. At WPP Media she will report to chief executive Brian Lesser.

Laura Ryan will run WPP Media’s buying, partnerships and activation

Her teams cover global media investment, partnerships with media owners, media management and activation. According to Campaign, her brief is to bring media, clients and technology closer together. She will also build products meant to add value for marketers and media partners.

Lesser said Ryan “knows how to connect client needs with new capabilities”. She will work alongside Adam Gerhart, WPP Media’s global chief client officer, and Lauren Wetzel, global president for data and technology solutions.

Orion left IPG’s orbit when Omnicom bought the group

Ryan spent more than 15 years at Orion in a series of senior jobs. Orion belonged to IPG Mediabrands until Omnicom took over IPG last year, so she arrives from the rival holding group. She started her career at Universal McCann in 1995. She also worked at the publishers Ziff Davis, Rodale and Bonnier Corporation and at Mountain Sports Media.

WPP Media has added DoorDash and Coca-Cola accounts this year

The hire comes as WPP Media takes on large media contracts. In late September DoorDash handed WPP Media one global media contract, starting in early 2027. Earlier, WPP took Coca-Cola’s international media account after Publicis stepped away.

Omnicom loses a 15-year Orion veteran, and WPP Media gets a buying chief from a rival group. Campaign did not give a start date.