Mark Russell to lead Wunderman Team Detroit

1 Oct 2007

Industry veteran Mark Russell has been named president of Wunderman Team Detroit, George S. Rogers, Team Detroit president and CEO announced today. Team Detroit is the joint venture comprised of the Detroit-based offices of its top marketing communications agencies – JWT, Y&R, Wunderman, Ogilvy, and Group M media companies Mediaedge and Mindshare. The group of WPP agencies currently has approximately 1,300 employees.

Before joining Team Detroit, Russell was senior vice president and managing director of the Boston and Dallas offices of Carat Fusion, where he was responsible for 22 national and global clients include John Deere, Wachovia, AOL, Reebok, Motorola and Radio Shack.<

He has also worked as managing director of interactive at Boston’s Connelly Partners after it acquired C-Quential, Inc., a marketing firm that Russell founded and led. With a JD in corporate law from Western New England College, Russell was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1996. His undergraduate degree in English with honors is from St. Lawrence University in New York.

"Mark’s team is responsible for the enterprise-wide digital work for Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Ford Customer Service Division and Ford Credit at Wunderman Team Detroit," said Rogers. "With his background, he’s already got lots of great ideas to help Ford showcase its lineup of exciting new products.

Russell is relocating to the Detroit area with his wife and three children.

As announced in January 2006 and implemented in January 2007, WPP restructured its service offerings in Detroit to offer best-in-class talent, easy access and more effective marketing partnerships to its client base in Detroit, the largest of which is Ford Motor Company. The Team Detroit concept was devised with Ford to enable the automaker access to WPP’s very best global automotive marketing talent in a seamless fashion.

In addition to Ford, Team Detroit’s clients include Bosch, Shell, White Castle, Great Lakes Crossing, Dollar General, United Way, Ambassador Bridge and Oakwood Healthcare System.