iris Names Mike Giannone Chief Strategy Officer in US

Following an unprecedented start to the year in the U.S, iris is investing in its senior management with the addition of Mike Giannone to the role of Chief Strategy Officer and Marie Davidheiser to the role of Managing Director (New York). The hires come following the agency’s award winning Super Bowl work for Jeep, national creative campaign work for the likes of Reebok, and landing new business from PBS, Diageo, Mondelez, Lamborghini and Kimberly-Clark to the iris roster.

With career nods including the iconic brand launch of Toyota Prius, the pivotal brand revival of Volvo, and a Grand Prix at Cannes, Mike hails most recently from Grey NY, where he was Group Strategy Director. At iris, Mike will work across the New York, Atlanta, Chicago and Sao Paulo offices, leading the strategy and planning teams and leveraging the agency’s blend of ‘creative innovation’ capabilities across creative, digital, social, CRM, experiential and content, to benefit all client business. 

Prior to Grey, Mike was VP, Strategic Planning Director at Innocean on Hyundai and See’s Candies. He has also held strategy and new business roles at The Garage Team Mazda/WPP and Saatchi & Saatchi LA.

Marie Davidheiser steps into the new Managing Director role for iris New York, charged with overseeing day-to-day management of the office, which has seen an influx in business since its Super Bowl success.  Marie joins iris from her most recent role as SVP, General Manager of Jack Morton’s NY office, responsible for leading the company across various disciplines and growing clients including Verizon, Walmart and Kimberly-Clark.  At iris, Marie will help strengthen the agency’s internal teams and culture to successfully deliver on the iris ambition to grow and work with the best brands in the U.S, which includes a focus on deepening its existing client relationships in New York.  

“iris is on a mission to work with more and more progressive clients who want to exploit the power of participation to drive brand growth,” remarks Sam Noble, iris’s Deputy Global CEO. “Between Mike’s ability to think big and bold for brands and root that thinking into business reality, and Marie’s ability to drive team collaboration with a no bull-shit attitude, we are well poised to move toward the place we want to be in the American markets.”