Horizon Media names Essence exec as chief marketing and equity officer

Horizon Media, the largest U.S. media agency according to the AdAge Datacenter, has named Latraviette D. Smith-Wilson to the newly created role of chief marketing and equity officer, a position the agency claims is an industry first. Smith-Wilson will report directly to Bill Koenigsberg, the agency's CEO and founder.

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Smith-Wilson will lead Horizon's marketing along with its diversity, equity and inclusion and impact efforts, a blended role that would have traditionally been the domain of two executives: the chief marketing officer and the chief diversity officer. A key goal of fusing the two positions is to facilitate Horizon’s growth strategy via its people and culture, client value propositions and agency identity, according to Smith-Wilson. The CMO role was previously held by Steven Hall, who left the agency.  

Fuel for business

On the marketing side, Smith-Wilson will help architect the future strategy of Horizon Media, from product development to expansion. From a DE&I perspective, she will lead the internal inclusion effort.  "DE&I is still far too often seen as a complement to business rather than as fuel for business,” she said. “I want Horizon to be a model for transforming how DE&I is viewed at-large from a marketing lens, its value in the business and its role in driving growth.”

Koenigsberg says that diversity, culture, equity, fairness and behaviors are closely connected with marketing and believes that DE&I is a part of the agency’s DNA, so it “just made all the sense in the world to combine them.”

“As we were looking for a CMO, at the same time, we were looking for a CDO, and this unicorn came along," said Koenigsberg. "We found that perfect fit in her." 

Enterprenurial bent

Before coming to Horizon Media, Smith-Wilson was the chief strategy and engagement office at Essence, where she led sales, marketing, content, creative, experiential, video and stakeholder engagement.  Prior to that she did marketing PR for Edelman. 

"As I consider the majority of my career choices, it is clear that I am drawn to entrepreneurial, innovative, go-where-I-can-do-things-never-done-before environments, and in that way, this move back to agency and with Horizon certainly fits the bill,” she said.

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Smith-Wilson joins the company just weeks after it sold a minority stake to Singapore-based investment firm Temasek and New York-based investment and merchant bank LionTree. Koenigsberg says it's too early to see any changes this has brought within the agency; it’s “just business as usual.”