Stagwell has named Nicole Souza as chief growth officer, North America, succeeding Robyn Freye in a role critical to scaling the company’s enterprise growth model following a year of record new business performance.

Souza joins from Publicis, where she most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer for Publicis Groupe Creative. She brings extensive experience translating integrated capabilities into enterprise-level wins, with prior leadership roles at Saatchi & Saatchi and Deutsch New York.

In this position, Souza will lead growth across North America, focusing on scaling Stagwell’s enterprise momentum, shaping and winning high-value opportunities, connecting capabilities across the network, and expanding them into long-term client partnerships.

Ryan Linder, EVP and Global Chief Marketing Officer of Stagwell, said: “Nicole is a builder. We’ve proven the model works; clients are responding to a more connected, modern approach to marketing. Now it’s about scaling that with intention. Nicole knows how to take complexity and turn it into growth, and that’s exactly what this next phase requires.”

Souza will also play a key role in advancing Stagwell’s go-to-market strategy around its creative capabilities and AI-driven marketing solutions, ensuring the company’s investments in technology and data translate directly into commercial advantage for clients.

Souza said: “I’m joining Stagwell because it represents the future. What’s already in place across agencies and capabilities is incredibly powerful; the opportunity now is to scale that into even greater impact for clients.”

Stagwell delivered 25% new business growth in 2025, adding partnerships with brands including Starbucks, PepsiCo, and Target momentum driven by its integrated approach across creative, media, data, and technology. Souza’s appointment represents a deliberate step to operationalize and accelerate this integrated approach at scale and is the first in a series of senior growth hires planned for 2026.