Thirty-year Weber Shandwick veteran Andy Polansky was recently elevated to chairman and CEO of holding company Interpublic’s Constituency Management Group, succeeding the retiring CFO Frank Mergenthaler in the CMG role. Longtime business partner Gail Heimann, who had served as Weber’s global president since 2013, took over the role of CEO at IPG’s largest PR firm, still reporting to Polansky.
CMG oversees Interpublic Group’s specialty marketing firms across a variety of disciplines, including PR, sports marketing, experiential marketing, brand consulting and digital and entertainment marketing.
"Andy was always the person who looked ahead, who saw the need, and who made sure that Weber Shandwick was very focused on being the cutting-edge firm it became," said Harris Diamond, chairman and CEO at McCann Worldgroup.
Polansky’s colleagues describe him as unfailingly personable.
"He cares about people, and as a result of that people embrace him," said Laura Schoen, Weber Shandwick president, global healthcare and chair, Latin America.
