This profile was originally published by Adweek.
The impact of this year’s class of Young Influentials—leaders in media, marketing and tech who have yet to hit their 40s—can be felt from the way we shop for cool clothes, the shows we binge and the gin we drink to how we think about race.
Kristen Colonna Chief strategy officer, OMD North America
Omnicom Media Group’s OMD has undergone a radical transformation since 2017, going from the bottom of COMvergence’s new business rankings to back-to-back Adweek Global Media Agency of the Year honors, and Colonna has played a crucial role at every step. The chief strategy officer was part of the core team that developed OMD Design, which modernized the agency’s media planning process by utilizing Omnicom data platform Omni to implement its “Better Decisions Faster” philosophy (she also played an active role in training OMD’s media planning teams in the use of Omni). This evolution, Colonna explains, allowed OMD to work closely with client-side marketers and ultimately “helped set us up for the unanticipated challenges of Covid-19.” With its new approach firmly in place, Colonna and OMD are looking ahead and preparing to help clients as life settles into a “new reset.” “We’re seeing success in new business and with existing clients,” she says. “2021 will be the year of mentorship to make sure our way of working comes to life as richly as possible.” —E.O.