Overview

Company Summary

Initiative unlocks business growth for the world’s most ambitious brands. We believe in the power of media to reshape our industry and orchestrate a brand’s entire consumer experience, by balancing both what unites people and what makes them different. When brands unite people in culture, they build Fame, and when brands connect individuals to their unique journeys, they build customer Flow. Initiative builds Fame & Flow for brands like Amazon, Nike, Constellation Brands, Merck, and T-Mobile. Media responsibility is at the forefront of everything we do, whether it’s creating media plans that reflect the diversity of our communities, promote brand safety, and foster sustainability. Our agency celebrates diversity in an inclusive environment where all of our 10,000+ strong talent across 90+ markets feel seen, heard, and valued. Our vision is to create not only a better media company, but also a better media industry, and maybe even a better world.

---

Staff

Total Number of Employees

Office Employees: 500+
Total US: 500+
Total Worldwide: 500+

Stacy DeRiso
US CEO
For Stacy DeRiso, progress isn’t about embracing change. It’s about igniting it. Stacy puts this approach to practice everyday as the CEO for Initiative’s largest market in the US.

As one of the largest media planning and buying companies, Initiative helps drive the marketing strategies of major brands including T-Mobile, Constellation Brands, Liberty Mutual, and Merck. Since taking the helm in 2021, Stacy has been instrumental in driving the agency’s extraordinary transformation with three years of double-digit growth YoY.
These results have attracted industry acclaim. In 2023, Initiative earned Agency of the Year honors from Ad Age, Adweek, and Festival of Media North America. The agency also received the most Top Distinctions of 53 leading agencies evaluated for the 2024 Campaign US Agency Performance Review. For her part, Stacy was named Adweek’s 2023 Media All-Stars Executive of the Year, a prestigious honor for the industry’s top leaders, and was honored as a 2025 She Runs It Working Mother of the Year.

Alongside her pursuit of business results for major brands is creating a best-in-class agency culture that all 1000+ Initiative talent can be proud of. She inaugurated an industry-first program called Marinate Cultureship to nourish peoples’ outside passions so they could bring more passion to work. The agency makes $1,000 grants for talent to pursue any project that brings them joy like powerlifting and organic perfuming.

While creating a best-in-class agency culture, Stacy has also reimagined the client relationship. She introduced the Empathy Charter – a way to establish mutually beneficial client partnerships that will grow and succeed. This charter establishes how Initiative works reflective of shared values, unique needs, and organizational realities, customized by team. The “Walk-A-Mile” component allows agency and clients to swap roles, giving each understanding of what the other goes through.

To stay on top, Initiative introduced a new proposition in 2023 called Fame & Flow. This framework brings performance marketing into the agency’s approach to growing brands.

In addition to being named Adweek’s Executive of the Year, Stacy was a Campaign US Female Frontier honoree in 2022 and celebrated on the “AdWeek 50” list in 2018. She serves on the MediaWeek Council comprised of the world’s leading media and marketing leaders who are working together to transform the ad buying ecosystem.

Mike Deane
Chief Strategy Officer, US
Mike Deane serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for the Initiative US market.

Mike joined the US leadership team as Chief Strategy Officer after a record-setting stint leading Initiative’s end-to-end product on clients across APAC, leading new product development across the Strategy community, and driving the consultancy offerings across the region.

An internationally recognized strategist, speaker, industry leader and awards judge, Mike has worked for nearly two decades in brand, communication, and media strategy, collecting many accolades along the way including multiple Cannes Lions. Throughout his career, Mike has delivered award-winning strategy for brands including Volkswagen, Uber, Mars, Samsung, and the Australian Government. An advocate for marketing effectiveness, Mike has shared the stage with the likes of Byron Sharp, and worked closely with the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute to help achieve accredited status in marketing science.

Before joining Initiative in 2023, Mike was Chief Media and Growth Officer at CHE Proximity, where he played a central role in driving the unification of the creative and media product under one roof.

John-Paul Aguirre
Chief Communications Design Officer
JP leads the Communications Design craft for the US market.

Before joining Initiative, JP worked for nearly a decade with Mediabrands sister agency, UM, where he was the co-managing director of UM San Francisco, an office that tripled in size under his watch and was a testing ground for some of the most advanced audience and commerce strategy work at the agency. JP’s expertise includes communication strategy, innovation acceleration, precision marketing, and cross-channel media planning inclusive of digital and multicultural strategy.

JP's previous experience includes working at Madison Avenue’s most awarded creative agencies including Goodby, Arnold, and The Vidal Partnership. JP has a master of science in strategic communications with an emphasis on brand development from Columbia University.

Rob DiGiovanni
President, T-Mobile
Rob DiGiovanni oversees one of Initiative’s largest and most complex client partnerships with the telecommunications leaders T-Mobile. Along with his team of 200, Rob supports the T-Mobile brand through industry-leading media solutions that drive growth.

Prior to joining Initiative, Rob held client and agency executive leadership positions at Ogilvy, GroupM, and PHD. Rob’s holistic view of media and marketing has been heavily influenced by his time in both creative and media agencies, working on brands such as IBM, Delta, UPS, American Express, and Philips, as well as spending seven years working in Asia-Pacific.

---

Clients and Brands

Client & Brands	Start Date
Amazon	N/A
Amgen	N/A
Applebee's	N/A
AstraZeneca	N/A
BMS	N/A
Carnival	N/A
CBI	N/A
Cigna	N/A
CME	N/A
CMS	N/A
Cooper Companies	N/A
Egglands Best	N/A
El Pollo Loco	N/A
Endo Pharmaceuticals	N/A
FDA	N/A
Foundation Med	N/A
Get Your Guide	N/A
Gilead	N/A
Grand Canyon Edu	N/A
IHOP	N/A
Intuit	N/A
Jazz Pharmaceuticals	N/A
Kaleo	N/A
KPMG	N/A
Liberty Mutual	N/A
Merck	N/A
Nike Inc	N/A
Nintendo	N/A
Salesforce	N/A
Subaru	N/A
Teva Pharmaceuticals	N/A
Teze	N/A
T-Mobile	N/A
Truth Initiative	N/A
Volvo	N/A

---

Billings & Revenue

Billing / Revenue Ranges	Number of Clients
Billing < $1M and/or Agency Revenue < $200K	16
Billing > $1M and < $3M	12
Billing > $3M and < $5M	4
Billing > $5M and < $10M	12
Billing < $10M and < $25M	15
Billing < $25M and < $50M	9
Billing > $25M	10

Total Gross Media Placed by this Office
$101 - 300 Million

Allocation Percent of Media Placed by this Office
Local Broadcast: 17%
National Broadcast: 52%
Digital: 19%
Print: 7%
Out of Home: 2%
Other: 3%

---

Types of Services

Service Offering	Revenue
Media Buying	36
Media Planning	29
Marketing Data Analytics	10
Digital/Interactive | Mobile and Wireless	8
Digital/Interactive | E-Commerce Solutions	6
Digital/Interactive | Search Engine Marketing	3
Direct Marketing	2
Digital/Interactive | Blogging Discussion Forums, Community Building	2
Multicultural | Native American/Other	1
Multicultural | Hispanic/Latino	1
Multicultural | Asian	1
Multicultural | Black	1

---

Industry Experience

Household Supplies
Telecommunications
Gasoline/Petroleum
Apparel & Fashion | footwear
Aerospace
Healthcare | direct to consumer (DTC)
Financial services | insurance
Technology | .com business
Financial services | investments
Technology | communications
Non-profit, associations & public services
Food & Beverage | alcoholic beverages
Technology | consumer electronics
Healthcare | Hospitals, Healthcare Facilities, Medical Services
Home Products | Home Improvements (hardware, paint, plumbing, gardening)
Automotive | aftermarket
Restaurants
Recreation & Sports | hobbies
Food & Beverage | pet food
Media | broadcasting
Gambling | casinos
Appliances
Media | publishing
Financial services | Banking - Consumer
Automotive | vehicles
Entertainment & Culture | amusement parks
Food & Beverage | soft drinks
Travel | hotels & resorts
Food & Beverage | food
Travel | airlines
Entertainment & Culture | motion pictures
Industrial, Manufacturing & chemicals
Healthcare | pharmaceutical
Retail
Recreation & Sports | toys & games
Luxury & Imported products
Consumer Services
Real Estate | buildings & construction
Technology | computer hardware & software
Government | economic development
Media | other
Gambling | lotteries
Cosmetics, perfumes & toiletries
Education
Government | military & defense
Technology | electronics
Healthcare | medical products
Apparel & Fashion | apparel
Travel | tourism

---