MullenLowe Group Honoured at IPG 2016 Inclusion Awards

Yesterday Interpublic Group hosted the company’s annual IPG Inclusion Awards program in New York City. This is the 6th consecutive year the event was held with co-sponsor MERGE, IPG’s cross-agency collection of business resource groups, and honored agencies and individuals from IPG’s global network that have shown leadership in advancing IPG’s goal of being one of the world’s most diverse and inclusive companies. MullenLowe Group was the recipient of 2 out of 11 total awards distributed to IPG agencies, for the categories of Inclusive Talent Cultivation by MullenLowe Profero and Individual Champion of Inclusion by MullenLowe Open.

The awards program included remarks from Michael Roth, IPG’s Chairman and CEO, and Heide Gardner, IPG’s SVP and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. “Moving the needle on diversity and inclusion continues to be an issue of paramount importance for IPG,” commented Michael Roth, Chairman and CEO, IPG.  “We are proud of the work we are doing to promote inclusion – work that is exemplified by the individuals and companies being honoured today.  We remain, however, very aware that there is much work to be done.  We are committed to continuing to devote resources to D&I so that we can continue to progress on this important journey,” he continued.

According to Heide Gardner, SVP and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, “The awards elevate efforts that are making a difference and offer a moment of celebration that we can share with the honorees. Although we have much more progress to make it is valuable to acknowledge how far we have come.”

Interpublic agencies and employees were invited to submit entries and receive acknowledgement for 11 award categories. Submissions were then judged by MERGE leadership. The Inclusive Talent Cultivation prize was accepted by Aaron Reitkopf, CEO of the Americas. MullenLowe Profero champions a hiring strategy that seeks to build an employee base that reflects the global communities where the agency operates; this includes hiring talent with diverse traits and a “global curiosity”. The agency has an Executive Council of over 70% diverse individuals that help solve broader diversity issues in the industry, and also support talent development – the agency has continued to retain talent that has been with the company for three or more years.

Emma Perkins, Executive Creative Director of MullenLowe Open in London received the Individual Champion of Inclusion award for her efforts in setting up initiatives that involve immediate, direct action to increase diversity at all levels. Over the last two years, Emma has developed initiatives aimed at impacting gender diversity. In 2015 she founded Who’s Your Mamma, a mentoring program that has helped more than 3,000 women maintain careers after entering motherhood. She is also the co-founder of Token Man, a series of interviews between high-profile men and women aiming to give men a better understanding of the challenges women face in the industry.  

The 2016 IPG honourees include:

Community Partnership – FCB Health

Inclusive Talent Cultivation – MullenLowe Profero

Inclusive Marketing Initiative of the Year – The Martin Agency

Communication and Education Initiative – Octagon

Most Effective Diverse Consumer Insights –  Casanova//McCann

Supplier Diversity – Jack Morton Detroit

Multicultural Agency/Practice of the Year – Casanova//McCann

Most Inclusive Climate – Carmichael Lynch

Individual Champion of Inclusion – Emma Perkins, MullenLowe Open

Agency Champion of Inclusion – Carmichael Lynch

Chief Diversity Officer/Human Resources Leader of the Year –   Ed Huerta-Margotta, Carmichael Lynch