Deb Freeman Joins FCB Garfinkel as EVP, Chief Strategy Officer

Worldwide CEO Carter Murray announced today that Deb Freeman will join FCB Garfinkel next month as chief strategy officer.

Freeman, who starts on February 1, was most recently executive strategy director at Grey New York, where she played a vital role in helping to create and formulate the agency’s strategic vision and practice and also cultivated company culture.

In her new role, Freeman will lead strategy for FCB Garfinkel. She will work closely with colleagues and the leadership team to uncover behavior-driven strategic insights and competitive opportunities to drive growth and value for clients. Freeman will report to Lee Garfinkel, CEO of FCB Garfinkel, and also collaborate with Global Chief Strategy Officer Nigel Jones.

An industry veteran, Freeman is highly respected for her strategic prowess and aptitude for working directly with marketers to create, transform and reimagine brands. At Grey, where she worked for 10 years, Freeman was an integral driving force in the WPP agency’s turnaround and new business success, playing a key role in wins spanning T.J. Maxx, Ally Financial, RadioShack, Pandora, the Whitney Museum of American Art and One World Observatory in New York, and many more. A change agent, Freeman has also inspired and led teams to build brands into cultural powerhouses. Her formula for success involves delving beyond insights to unlock powerful human truths and engage closely with today’s cultural zeitgeist. For brands ranging from Pantene, Pringles, 3M, Ketel One, Canon, and leading hospital UPMC, the payoff has been stronger, go-to-market strategies and deeper, more meaningful connections with consumers.

“Deb is a strategic visionary who knows and understands the impact of unraveling the ‘why’ behind insights and human behavior and the impact that can have on our communities, culture and the world at large,” said Garfinkel.

“We’re excited to have her on board,” Added Jones, “Deb brings a wonderful, holistic blend of business and relationship-building skills, combined with a keen instinct for identifying consumer and cultural trends before they reach the tipping point. I look forward to partnering with her.”

Said Freeman: “As a strategist, knowledge and insights are at the heart of what I do. One of the things that attracted me to FCB is the company’s keen emphasis on the power of understanding human behavior, and the tremendous effect this can have in helping brands serve as cultural change agents as well as provide meaningful value to consumers’ lives.”

Prior to Grey, Freeman served as a strategic brand and innovation consultant and also worked at agencies Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners and boutique firm Nick and Paul, The Brand Agency. A cross-category expert, she has led strategy for a variety of well-known advertisers over the course of her career, spanning Coca-Cola, Unilever, JetBlue, HBO and the Sundance family of brands.