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Razorfish CEO to oversee four additional agencies

Bob Lord, global CEO of Razorfish, has added VivaKi network agencies Big Fuel, Denuo, Digitas and Phonevalley to his responsibilities, he said on Dec. 5. He replaces former Digitas CEO Laura Lang, who previously oversaw these assets prior to being named CEO of Time Inc.

In addition to agency operations, Lord will convene a “Digital Transformation Team” that will include executives from several Publicis Groupe agencies. The mission of the team will be to “leverage the success of VivaKi to develop a strategy that will similarly accelerate digital capabilities, technology and talent for the entire Groupe,” according to a VivaKi statement. Lord’s team is expected to deliver its recommendations during the first quarter of next year.

Lord said the team will “figure out how to leverage technology across our marketing offerings for all of the Groupe’s agencies.” He added it was important for agencies to offer a product to complement services so that “you’re not as dependent on hourly rates.”

Products will come in the form of partnerships, invention and acquisition, said Lord.

“We’ll have a lot more to announce in Q2,” he said.

Lord said the proposed transformation is not likely to involve merging Publicis Groupe agencies.

“I have a bias against that,” he said. “I believe agency brands should identify what they do more succinctly so they can compete against each other to fuel innovation.”

Lord will continue under his current title until after the strategy team has made its recommendations. Digitas will not name another global CEO until the recommendations are finalized. Colin Kinsella, CEO of North America at Digitas, and Stephan Beringer, CEO of Digitas International, will continue to run the agency’s day-to-day operations, reporting directly to Lord.

Lord has worked at Razorfish since 2000. He was named CEO in 2009. Prior to Razorfish, he served as COO and EVP of professional services company Prism Rehab Systems. He also served as a partner consultant with consulting firm Symmetrix.

Lord will continue to report to Jack Klues, CEO of Publicis Groupe’s VivaKi.

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