“A Place Where You’re Getting what You Need”: Micheline Grace Lewis’ Plans for DDB North America

"I like when there's an opportunity and I don't like to be bored," Micheline Grace Lewis tells LBB about her decision to join DDB North America as its new chief people officer. "There's a ton of opportunity at various levels, even from an agency like this that is part of a bigger network and has such great frameworks and people. I like being in a place where human resources are respected."

Micheline joined DDB North America at the start of 2024, reporting to global chief people officer Roisin Rooney. Most recently, she worked as the chief people officer across Mother Industries in the US, leading end-to-end people and talent functions including recruitment, career progression, performance management, cultural initiatives and HR operations. She established in-house learning and development practices focused on positively impacting business needs while driving DEI accountability and talent-centric processes to meet the demands of hybrid work. She held similar roles at J.P. Morgan Chase and Ernst & Young.  

"She just feels so 'us'," says Roisin, who is a 34-year DDB veteran. DDB North America spent the second half of 2023 on somewhat of an inflection point with the merging of adam&eveNYC and DDB New York under the adam&eveDDB name, and Roisin says that Micheline's immediate understanding of the importance of nuance for adam&eve, DDB Chicago, West, Rodgers Townsend, etc. was something she quickly fell for during initial chats. 

"I wanted someone who could really understand that dynamic and respect those individual cultures, but also bring a cohesion and the very best of it all together," says Roisin. "We've gone through that period of transformation, and now it's about really giving back to our people and being really genuine about believing that they can do some of the best work of their careers, but we know there's a value exchange in that, we've got to give something to you guys. And let's authentically build that together."

A key part of Micheline's focus in 2024 - as well as Roisin's on a more global scale - will be around education. The advertising industry is in a consistent state of flux, so it's important for this team to be acutely aware of the changes that are coming through and look set to stick. "We've gone through those phases of 'you've got to get digital' and 'it's all about big data'," says Roisin. "But what does that mean?"

So, DDB's approach is looking at it through a lens of everything starting with creativity. "It's about creative business problem solving," says Roisin. "In service of that, what does technology enable? How do we give our people the confidence that they're going to be innovators and constantly curious? There's a mapping exercise between what our brand stands for, what our clients need and expect of us, what gaps we have, and what we do to provide and close those gaps." 

Micheline, Roisin and the rest of the team aim to customise education depending on the needs of each agency within DDB, to avoid it feeling empty and lacking relevance for people's jobs. "It's important to own your own career," adds Micheline. "But sometimes when you own your own career, you don't really know what to do. That's where these paths and the customisation will help. 

"I'm a firm believer that education is the great equaliser," adds Micheline who once sat on the Jersey City Board of Education and currently sits on an education and arts board. "I firmly believe that education is the great equaliser in DE&I but it doesn't stop when you walk out the high school door or the university door. It is about how you continue to educate and have those opportunities for yourself. And this is a lifeline for people and to remind them that this is a growth for them and this is an opportunity for them and not just like a carrot or a stick."

In terms of education, an often overlooked element within businesses is the teaching and nurturing of people to become good managers. People might study a certain profession and specialism, but the natural progression of one’s career often leads them down a path that ends with managing a person or team of people with little guidance on how to actually do that well. 

“People don't generally leave companies, they leave bad managers,” says Roisin. “And nobody sets out to go, ‘you know what, today, I'm gonna be a horrible manager’.”

She adds, “When you take on a team, nobody gives you the manual for how you do it. But actually, we are building that manual, exactly for how to do it. That sounds so analogue, but it's going to be all online, and involve micro learning and frameworks and all of those things. But it has to be authentic to DDB. What is it we want to get done? What does it mean for our culture and our people? How do you seamlessly integrate it into what you're doing? 

“But you're absolutely right. We have recognised that it needs some education, and it needs some signposting.” Micheline is keen to add that this new playbook of management will be completely dynamic and, like all of her aims as chief people officer for DDB North America, will be adapted to different offices’ and people’s unique specialisms and points of view. This initiative is being created across the first quarter of 2024 and the team hopes to launch it by the end of March.

But, all things considered, LBB sat down with Micheline and Roison on the former’s fourth day of work at DDB. So, for now, her focus is on bedding down and, more importantly, listening. “I think people might get annoyed by all my questions,” she jokes, “but I want to understand.

“And then it's about making a positive impact based on what I've learned, and to be a real strategic partner to the leadership that really deeply affects. I want the recommendations that I make and the partnerships that I have to be felt through all levels. Whether it be through talent acquisition, wellness, the general culture of the people, I want it to be felt throughout. I want the vibrancy to come through when you are in a team meeting and when you walk through the door. 

"I want you to feel that you're in a professional atmosphere, and that you're getting what you need in that value exchange, and you're not just coming in on the grind, right that you're coming in. That there's something more - that you're happy to come in. 

“And it won't just be because I'm going to bring my dog, who's super cute. It will be because this feels like the place where you're getting what you need.”