EMM People

The media services business has arguably experienced a decade of ‘dumbing down’, with personnel training programmes falling victim to the drive for lower commissions and cost-cutting. Today, the industry is peopled by professionals with narrower focus, greater specialisation and less real training and experience than ever before.

EMM has deliberately gone the other way, maintaining a ‘top-heavy’ staff structure led by people of vision who know the market and the way it operates. EMM’s ‘hands-on’ project leaders typically have 10-20 years media-related experience in multiple markets, and have occupied senior positions in the media industry.

Stephen White – Founder and Chairman

Before founding EMM in September 1993, Stephen was a Director of Aegis Group plc and
represented the Group on a number of the operating companies’ Boards in Europe, including the position of CEO for Carat Scandinavia and Carat Netherlands, and Chairman of BBJ (now Vizeum) in the UK. During this period he played a key role in building the foundations that led to Carat becoming Europe’s number-one media specialist, including leading the team to win Carat’s first multinational account (the Walt Disney Company in 1991).

Stephen’s long relationship with Aegis effectively started in 1979, when he helped to create the Wight Collins Rutherford Scott (WCRS) agency as a founder Director and Media Director. Subsequently he was appointed Worldwide Media Director of EWBD in 1986, as well as becoming deputy chairman of the UK agency.

Stephen started his career as a trainee with Unilever working with frozen foods and soap powders. He joined Lintas (then owned by Unilever) as a media planner/buyer. He then joined McCann-Erickson and transferred to McCann’s New York office as a media manager, returning a year later to become founding Director and Media Director at Harrison McCann.