Stagwell Inc recently announced the appointment of Stephanie Howley as inaugural Chief People Officer, following on the Stagwell Marketing Group's merger with MDC Partners to form Stagwell Inc. This merger makes the new company one of the top 10 global marketing services companies in the world, with some 10,000 global employees.

 In her new role, Howley will manage the creation of programs, infrastructure and schemes to provide Stagwell's talent community with unique career and development opportunities. Her appointment caps off the expansion of the company's Human Resources and Talent Development team, which is based out of New York

"I look forward to supporting our agency partners and, in particular, our diversity and inclusion efforts as we drive performance through collaboration in an environment where each individual agency culture can thrive," she said.

With over two decades of experience, Howley, a veteran in human resources and people operations, has led diverse leadership roles in various companies. Prior to Stagwell, Howley served as an Executive Vice President, Managing Director of People Team for North America,WPP's BCW Global. She successfully led the incorporation of people operations in North America during the merger of Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe. Howley started her career with Cohn & Wolfe Group and served as EVP, Human Resources.

Welcoming Howley on her new role, Mark Penn, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Stagwell said, Howley's expertise in human resources and people operations will strengthen Stagwell to achieve its long term business objectives.

"You can't cut your way to greatness; by doubling down on our investment in our talent and the culture across the organisation, we're building a greater runway to client success and growth for the new company. Stephanie's deep expertise will be crucial as we embark on this new journey," Penn said.