Hearst Corporation hires ad world veteran

Hearst Corporation has appointed Nick Brien as president of Hearst Magazines Marketing Services and CEO of iCrossing, the company's full-service digital marketing agency. Meanwhile, global president, Brian Powley is leaving the company to pursue other business interests.Brien will report to Steven R. Swartz, president and CEO, Hearst Corporation, and David Carey, president, Hearst Magazines. With three decades of global experience across advertising, media and marketing services, Brien was most recently a strategic consultant, board advisor and early-stage investor in digital media, advertising and technology startups.Prior to that, he was CEO of McCann Worldgroup from 2010 to 2012. From 2008 to 2010, Brien was CEO of Interpublic Group's Mediabrands. Brien was also global CEO of UM from 2005 to 2008. He has also held a number of other leadership positions, including CEO of Publicis Groupe's Arc Worldwide, CEO of Leo Burnett, London and global president of corporate business development for Starcom MediaVest Group."Nick Brien is one of the industry's most respected advertising executives, and his arrival at Hearst Magazines underscores our ambition to offer a full range of media products and marketing services for our partners," Swartz said."Our print platform is strong, our digital audiences are growing rapidly, and Brien will oversee the expansion of iCrossing and its capabilities."Currently iCrossing has 17 offices around the world, offering digital marketing services including search marketing, performance media, content creativity, social strategy, Web development and mobile marketing. The agency actively leverages Hearst Corporation's digital performance network, Core Audience, and the company's 220 million global unique visitors. iCrossing's client roster of world-class brands includes Coca-Cola, DIRECTV, LG Electronics, Microsoft, PNC, Toyota and Williams-Sonoma,"As a unit of Hearst Magazines, iCrossing is uniquely positioned to deliver innovative marketing campaigns that creatively engage consumers and build equity for brands," Brien (pictured) said."We are fueled by the vast content, audience and data assets of Hearst Corporation. Going forward, we will strengthen our reputation as premier digital marketing experts by unleashing the full potential of our combined creative and strategic resources to execute powerful digital solutions for global marketers,” he added