• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, March 6, 2012

IPG’s UM confirmed a restructuring at its U.S. management team Tuesday. The changes are effective immediately. 

David Cohen has been named chief media officer, a newly formed position in which he will lead the Media Management discipline of the agency. Cohen has been with UM for more than 10 years and was most recently responsible for leading UM’s global digital offering, which he will continue to oversee.

In his new role, Cohen will be responsible for setting the U.S. agenda for integrated planning and integrated investment that will serve as a “best practices” template. Cohen’s direct reports will include all of the competency leads across portfolio management, integrated investment, decision sciences, ad operations, and innovation.

“We believe that this structure will deliver the highest quality of thinking, planning and execution across all of our communications plans, ultimately leading to tangible business results for our clients,” added Yin Rani, president of UM North America. 

The portfolio management team in the U.S. will be led by Mike Racic, who will drive planning across the region while partnering closely with clients. In addition to working with the integrated investment leads to deliver in-market programs, Racic will work closely with Cohen to create greater consistency and digital integration into UM’s planning. 

Most recently, Racic ran portfolio management at J3, UM’s division that manages its Johnson & Johnson business.

Also joining the North America Leadership Team is Tara Poto, who will lead the UM content and experiences team. Poto joined UM in 2003 to help build the dedicated strategic unit serving client Johnson & Johnson. For the past nine years, she has led the Activation team at J3, the J&J unit. 

Commenting on the restructuring, Jacki Kelley, Global CEO of UM, citing the growth of data-rich buying platforms, and the blurring between digital and traditional media, stated: “This, coupled with the ongoing contraction of media ownership across channels, provided the backdrop for a continued evolution of our go-to-market strategy.”