Ad agency Johannes Leonardo appoints Grace Blue’s Joint CEO Debra Sercy as their first Chief Talent Officer.

Welcoming Sercy to the agency, Yasko said, “As we continue to grow, we want to be the agency that is known for putting our people at the center of everything that we do, so bringing on a chief talent officer was a non-negotiable for me.”

Sercy will be joining the Johannes Leonardo in September 2019 and will be reporting into Bryan Yasko, President, Johannes Leonardo. She will be leading talent recruitment and retention strategy, and will be working with several other divisions to develop strategies focused on building a thriving culture and to foster creativity in employees.

Currently, holding the fort alongside Joint CEO Claire Telling in New York, Sercy joined executive search firm Grace Blue in 2012. She is among the founders of the firm’s North American office. Headquartered in London, the agency also has offices in Singapore and Shanghai.

Wishing Sercy the best for her future endeavours, Grace Blue’s Founder Jay Haines said, "Debra has been an amazing partner and a huge part of the business we have built over the past seven years. Sometimes an opportunity comes up that is too good to ignore, and her new role represents exactly that—and we wish her all the best."

The search firm has helped established brands in the likes of Amazon, Spotify, Ogilvy and Dentsu Aegis among others to recruit the best talent in leading marketing roles. Ensuring a strong focus on diversity and inclusion hiring, 52 percent of the individuals placed by the firm were women and over 20 percent were people of colour. Moving to her next role with the same principles, Sercy intends to keep diversity and inclusion hiring as a priority.

“I hope I’ll bring some new ideas to recruiting, but I want to make sure diverse talent find a home where they are celebrated for their unique perspectives and their differences are valued. This requires true transparency and a culture that invites dissension. I believe Johannes Leonardo is there already and I can only help push their commitment further with complementary new ideas,” said Sercy.

With prior experience on the agency side with Mother and The Richards Group, looking into accounts like Coca-Cola, Target, Dell and The Home Depot and a sever year stint at New York's leading search firm, Sercy has experienced the best of both the worlds. In her new role as Chief Talent Officer at an ad agency, she has an opportunity to utilize her knowledge expertise to deliver desired talent outcomes.

Image credit: Ad Age