Lisa Donohue

CEO

Starcom

Lisa Donohue and her clients have enjoyed great success during her 20+ years in the media agency business, simply because it’s always been her strategy to make it so. Today, as CEO of Starcom, Lisa’s formidable strategic talent empowers her company to meet and exceed challenges on behalf of some of the country’s mightiest marketers, connecting them with their desired audiences through thoughtful media relationships and inspired communications models.

Before taking on the top job at Starcom, Lisa served as President, Truth & Design Group at sister agency MediaVest. In this strategic planning-centric role, she was charged with ensuring that all consumer contact disciplines work together, synchronizing message and media across communications channels. It was Lisa’s re-imagination and overhaul of planning that yielded Truth & Design’s revolutionary methodology – transforming the historically linear process into an ideas-based approach that connects brands with consumers through proprietary tools and approaches.

A member of the MediaVest Executive Team, Lisa also oversaw the agency’s digital practice, as well as its Sight, Sound and Motion unit, the agency’s P&G-dedicated investment group. She led the agency’s product development team, helping MediaVest garner 25 award winners and finalists – including Emmy, EFFIE, Creative Media Award, Adweek BUZZ and Reggies accolades. A proven champion for talent development, Lisa helped create and sponsor MediaVest’s Impact Circle, an innovative next-generation initiative designed to leverage talent in new ways and activate future agency leadership.

Lisa is also a vital contributor to the global SMG network, active on its Leadership Board and its Global Product Committee. She’s also a board member for SMG Exchange, the network’s initiative to better steward market intelligence, digital acceleration and client ad spend across its American agencies.

In 2006, Advertising Age recognized Lisa as a “Women to Watch” in the advertising and marketing industry. Additionally, she has participated as an active member in the Advertising Women of New York. Other career accolades include: the Chicago Magazine Association’s prestigious Bill Harmon Award for creatively and aggressively leading the print media industry; two Mediaweek “Plan of the Year” honors, and two Cannes Media Lion victories for her work on Nintendo.