Essence names Kyoko Matsushita global CEO

Kyoko Matsushita has been promoted to global chief executive of Essence, succeeding Christian Juhl as he takes on the top job at GroupM.

Matsushita is currently the media agency’s chief client officer and APAC CEO. She originally joined Essence, a GroupM agency, in 2014 to lead its expansion in the APAC region.

In her new role she will work closely with Essence’s global management team, and will continue to report into Juhl as he becomes GroupM’s global CEO.

“Kyoko’s deep relationships with our clients, her knowledge of our culture, and her vision for the future make her the perfect person to lead Essence into its next era of growth and innovation,” Juhl said.

Based in San Francisco, Matsushita will begin her new role on October 1.

Commenting on the promotion, she said: “I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to lead this truly exceptional agency at a time when data and technology give us so much potential to unlock value for our clients.

“Essence was founded to lead the industry in creating trustworthy, relevant, and valuable advertising. I couldn’t be more excited to see what we can accomplish when we combine this mission with our clients’ ambition and the power of data science and big ideas.”

Essence’s clients include Google, Flipkart, NBCUniversal and the Financial Times.