NEW YORK: M Booth has named Ketchum veteran Dale Bornstein to serve as CEO as of October 1, when current chief executive Margi Booth will assume the role of chairman.
Both Bornstein and Booth will report to Tim Dyson, CEO of parent company Next Fifteen. The firm will continue to be branded M Booth despite the leadership change.
Most recently senior partner and director of global practices at Ketchum, Bornstein will lead M Booth's operation of nearly 100 staffers in its New York and Los Angeles offices.
Booth said she will remain actively involved with the agency and its client work.
“It's the perfect time, particularly as we transform into an integrated communications company, to have someone like Dale Bornstein, who has enormous creative acumen and is a great collaborator and has worked with some of the biggest and best brands in the industry and understands digital,” explained Booth.
Bornstein, who has worked at Ketchum for more than 25 years, said she was not looking for a new role. She added that she thought it was time to take what she had learned and apply it to make an impact at another firm.
Coming from a larger agency, Bornstein added that she is also excited to learn entrepreneurism from M Booth's team.
“I have always had M Booth on my radar, and I've always had great respect and admiration for Margi Booth and what she was able to create with her team and the work they do and the spirit and values they have,” she said.
When Bornstein steps into the new role, she said she plans to work with the firm's leadership team “to define the next chapter of M Booth and what is going to differentiate and grow the agency and best serve current and new clients.”
During her tenure at Ketchum, Bornstein worked on a wide array of large brands, such as Frito-Lay, Macy's, Kodak, Hershey's, Pfizer, Unilever, Best Buy, IKEA, and ConAgra. She also served as a member of the firm's nine-person executive team.
Before her most recent position at Ketchum, which included oversight of all global practices and networks, Bornstein led the agency's New York office for 10 years.
In 2012, M Booth posted a 3% revenue increase to more than $14.5 million. The agency was acquired by Next Fifteen in 2009 for an initial price of $4 million, with an additional $13.25 million that was planned to have been paid over four years if revenue and profit goals were met. It is understood that Booth's earn-out period ended in July.
Other Next Fifteen agencies have also seen leadership changes in recent months. Bite CEO Andy Cunningham stepped down at the end of June to focus on Series C, the marketing consultancy she founded last year. Dyson is running Bite on an interim basis.
Bite has also brought on Sean Mills, a former SVP in Edelman's New York technology practice, as its regional director for North America.
