John Muszynski
CEO
As the leader of Starcom USA, John Muszynski has helped build a company at the forefront of leveraging media partnerships to strengthen the brands of some of the world’s biggest marketers. In an era where consumers have unprecedented control of their media experiences, John has driven his agency to excel in generating consumer insights, idea activation and digital innovation needed to captivate empowered consumers – creating connections that yield business results for his clients. An outspoken proponent for proven change and accountability, he continues to champion unprecedented industry firsts within one of the world’s most creative industries.
Prior to becoming CEO in 2005, John adopted the newly created position of managing director of investment and operations in March 2004, wherein he assumed ultimate responsibility for all agency media investment activities. The management position already entailed his oversight of agency service structures and direct accountability for roughly half of Starcom’s blue chip client roster. John’s affinity for consumer impact goes back to his origins as a media planner; he joined the agency in 1981 with early strategic experience on McDonald’s and Kellogg’s brands – and he considers his 12-year stint working for the latter as one of his career highlights. He rose to the rank of media director and became a vice president by 1989. He was named senior vice president in 1994. Three years later, he was chosen to head the broadcast investment group (BIG).
John has played an early, vital role in driving Starcom’s embrace of digital media, advocating investment of client dollars in broadband video contact and supporting development of the agency’s video activation group. He has maintained strong involvement in shaping traditional television investment practices; in 2004 he served on the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) and Association of National Advertisers (ANA) committees examining Upfront pricing. He currently serves as a member of the influential AAAA’s Media Policy committee.
During his career, Muszynski has received numerous honors for his work in the industry, including Advertising Age’s Media Maven, TV Week’s Buyer of the Year as well as a Mediaweek All-Star and Kidscreen Golden Marble Award for Best Media Director. He is perhaps most proud of his client awards, including Best Buy’s Bravo Award given by the company to honor their business partner delivering the highest level of quality performance. Under his watch, Starcom has been named Agency of the Year by Advertising Age (2006) and by Media magazine two consecutive years (2005-06), and consistently receives one of the highest grades in Adweek’s annual Report Card ranking.