Stephen has been MediaCom's worldwide chairman and chief
executive since August 2008.
He began his career at The Media Business Group (TMBG) in 1982
as a media executive, working his way up to become a director in
1987. In the following year, he was appointed as the group's
director of new business and led TMBG to rapid growth over the
following four years. In October 1988, he was appointed managing
director of the Group.
In 1995, TMBG sought a full listing on the London Stock Exchange
and Stephen became one of the youngest managing directors of a
publicly quoted company.
Three years of continuous growth and a fourfold increase in
billings culminated in a merger between TMBG and MediaCom.
Following an initial stint as managing director of the merged
company, in 1999 Stephen was named chief executive of the MediaCom
Group. He has overseen the most successful merger in the
recent history of UK advertising. During his six years of
leadership, MediaCom quadrupled its billings, and soon became the
UK's number one media agency with billings of more than £1bn. It
was voted Media Agency of the Year and one of the UK's Best
Companies to Work For by the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies
Survey.
In 2004, Stephen became vice-chairman of MediaCom Worldwide, and
in the latter part of 2005 joined GroupM UK as chief executive,
overseeing the management of Mindshare, Mediaedge:CIA, as well as
MediaCom, representing more than £2bn in media billings.
Throughout his career, Stephen's achievements have been
recognised by his peers and press alike. Most recently, in December
2008 he was voted Media Achiever of the Year by
Campaign magazine.
On taking up his global role, Stephen began the task of
restructuring the network to enhance and strengthen MediaCom's
global capabilities. These changes were clearly recognised in 2009
when MediaCom became the first ever network to win the Agency
Network of the Year crown at both the M&M Awards and The
Festival of Media. This success was repeated at the M&M Awards
in 2010 and 2011, as the agency became the first to win three
consecutive titles.
Stephen is also chairman and co-founder of Rays of Sunshine
Children's Charity. The charity formed in 2004 to help children who
are living with serious or life-limiting illnesses. The charity is
fulfilling an average two wishes a day.