NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - April 4, 2011) - New York-based social marketing agency Mr Youth (http://mryouth.com) announced today the strengthening of its executive management team with the appointment of two key hires: Matt McRoberts as Chief Growth Officer; and Helene De Vries as Chief Talent Officer.
"Talent investment is a huge priority for us as we continue to scale our agency and define new, collaborative offerings in the marketplace," said Matt Britton, CEO and Founder of Mr Youth. "Matt and Helene will be instrumental in identifying top talent, motivating our existing teams and creating an inspired culture that aligns with our business objectives. We're thrilled to have them on board."
Matt McRoberts, Chief Growth Officer
A highly driven and enthusiastic leader, as Chief Growth Officer, McRoberts will be responsible for helping mentor and manage agency development. Specifically, he's charged with developing a scalable, strategic business development structure that delivers growth, reputation and ongoing momentum.
Previously, McRoberts served as a Founding Partner of iris Worldwide. He opened the New York office and led the global network's first international expansion, growing the agency's presence in the Americas to over 100 people at offices in New York, Miami, Atlanta and Portland. While under his leadership, iris was named one of Crain's Best Places to Work in New York, a PROMO Fastest Growing Agency, and an Ex Award Winner.
Prior to iris, McRoberts was a Managing Director at Alloy Media + Marketing. He also worked on the brand side at Monster.com as Senior Director of Youth Marketing where he developed MonsterCampus, a targeted sales and marketing channel within the Monster Worldwide network. While there, he also led the integration of the major acquisitions FastWeb, JobTRAK and Making it Count.
McRoberts said: "With the continued communications evolution and shake up in our industry, I was drawn to Mr Youth's legacy of ongoing progression, innovation and true collaboration. The sky's the limit in terms of what this organization can actually accomplish."
Helene De Vries, Chief Talent Officer
As Chief Talent Officer, De Vries will be tasked with leading the agency's HR strategy -- including talent acquisition, development, performance, engagement and retention -- to support Mr Youth's growing client roster and expanded agency offerings.
Previously, De Vries held positions with two top-tier executive search firms -- Executive Vice President of JobPlex, Inc., a DHR International Company, and Managing Director of Gundersen Partners. In these roles, she directed the marketing services practice and oversaw a broad range of integrated marketing searches for the firms, recruiting employees at Director through C-level for both agencies and client side opportunities.
Prior to Gundersen Partners, De Vries worked as Vice President of Millsport, a sports marketing agency. While there, she focused on managing consumer events and customer hospitality projects for integrated marketing, business development and brand building opportunities for clients including Royal Caribbean, Pepsi-Cola and Visa. She also managed key relationships with a variety of the country's top sports properties such as NCAA, MLB, NFL and USTA.
"Knowing and working with Mr Youth since its inception, I have always been impressed with its forward-thinking approach to connecting clients with consumers," said De Vries. "I'm delighted to be focused on developing and activating the talent roadmap for Mr Youth's future."
ABOUT MR YOUTH
New York-based Mr Youth is a social marketing agency that was founded in 2002 as the antidote to traditional media burnout. Since then, Mr Youth has worked with some of the world's leading brands -- including MSN, P&G, Crayola, Ford and HP -- to help them connect with the rapidly evolving consumer by developing strategies and campaigns centered around word of mouth, social interactive and experiential marketing. Mr Youth's RepNation, the leading word of mouth network of 125,000+ savvy consumers, provides marketers a direct channel to conceive ideas, market with, and gain insights from their own consumers.
Mr Youth was recently ranked 7th among Fast Company's "Most Innovative Companies in Advertising and Marketing." Crain's New York Business named Mr Youth one of its "Best Places to Work 2010," and in 2009 Mr Youth was awarded "Social Media Agency of the Year" by Mashable's Open Web Awards. For more information, visit www.mryouth.com.
