Ad agency Imre has filled the vacancy at the top of its organization, poaching Nadine Lafond from Ogilvy Health to serve as its CEO.
Lafond worked at Ogilvy Health North America, part of WPP’s global agency network, for more than 10 years. When she left, she held the titles of chief client officer for North America and president of Ogilvy Health Canada. Imre said in Monday's announcement that the roles gave Lafond responsibility for leading major U.S. businesses and driving cardiometabolic, neurology, oncology and rare disease growth.
At Imre, Lafond will oversee offices in New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. The new CEO’s to-do list includes the expansion of the Imre Conversation Converter, a tool the agency developed in response to the rise of artificial intelligence chatbots. With patients and doctors using technologies such as ChatGPT to collect information, Imre has identified a need for brands to rethink where they are visible online.
“The world isn't waiting, and neither are our clients,” Lafond said in a statement. “Our industry hasn't evolved its business model fast enough. This is Imre's moment to rethink how agencies create value—with more agility, more consulting rigor and a deeper focus on innovation and outcomes.”
Lafond fills a role that has been unoccupied since April 2023, when Neera Chaudhary vacated the Imre CEO seat seven months after taking up the job.
Anna Kotis, who joined Imre as president 10 months before Chaudhary’s appointment, took over day-to-day decision-making on an interim basis while the agency searched for a new CEO.
Kotis isn’t mentioned in the press release disclosing Lafond’s appointment and has been removed from the “About Us” page of Imre’s website. According to MM+M, Kotis will continue working at Imre for a transitional period, though her long-term future, including whether she will retain the president position, is reportedly yet to be decided.