GroupM has announced that Marie-Claire Barker has been named global chief people officer, effective January 2022. She succeeds Jennifer Remling, who was appointed WPP’s chief people officer in October. Barker will be based in GroupM’s 3 World Trade Center office in New York.
As a member of GroupM’s global leadership team, Barker will lead the group’s People Solutions operation across its 36,000-person organisation. She will ensure GroupM continues to invest in creating a culture of innovation and inclusivity where the industry’s leading talent can have a positive impact on the world while building fulfilling careers.
Barker commented: “GroupM is a uniquely global company, bringing culture, technology and business together in exciting new ways.
“We have an important opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the world by making advertising work better for people. I couldn’t be more excited to be rejoining WPP and the GroupM family as we build the skill sets, culture and systems necessary to make our vision for a more responsible and inclusive industry a reality.”
Barker brings a wealth of experience building high-performing teams in agency environments via roles at Ogilvy, MEC/Wavemaker and, most recently, Edelman. As global chief talent officer of Edelman, she led people solutions through critical phases of the organisation, including over the last 18 months during the pandemic. Leading with innovative approaches, she aligned the talent function more closely to business operations and, through this, Barker has ensured that Edelman continued to foster a unique culture that puts people at the centre of their operation in addition to its inclusivity and diversity practices.
Christian Juhl, GroupM’s Global CEO commented: “In the last two years, we’ve seen a fundamental shift in the employment market, which brings exciting opportunities and challenges for people and companies alike.
“I’m confident Marie-Claire will help us as we design a future-facing organization that continues to attract, develop and retain the best people in the industry. She will help us continue to think boldly about the future of work and build on the many new programs we’ve implemented over the last 18 months to make GroupM the model for our industry.”
