InnerWorkings Announces CEO Succession Plan
February 01 2018 - 4:14PM
Business Wire
Rich Stoddart to Succeed Eric Belcher as Chief
Executive Officer; Belcher to Transition to Executive Chairman
InnerWorkings, Inc. (NASDAQ: INWK), the leading global marketing
execution firm, today announced that President and Chief Executive
Officer, Eric Belcher, will be succeeded by Rich Stoddart, who is
currently serving as Global President of Publicis Groupe’s Leo
Burnett Worldwide. Mr. Stoddart will be appointed President &
Chief Executive Officer of InnerWorkings, Inc. and will join its
Board of Directors effective on or before April 5, 2018, at which
time Mr. Belcher will transition to the role of Executive Chairman
of the Board of Directors.
As Global President of Leo Burnett Worldwide since January 2016,
Rich Stoddart has served as the chief executive officer of one of
the world’s largest and most awarded global advertising agencies,
and has more than 30 years of marketing experience. Prior to his
current role, he ran Leo Burnett North America for 11 years as
Chief Executive Officer and President. In these roles, Mr. Stoddart
oversaw a period of significant growth as the agency expanded
relationships with existing clients and added new clients. During
his tenure, Mr. Stoddart was active in the development and
recruitment of top industry talent. He was also responsible for
developing and integrating the agency’s shopper, digital, and
mobile technology capabilities to deliver seamless cross-platform
solutions for clients.
Mr. Belcher commented, “When the Board and I began our
succession planning last spring, our goals were to ensure an
orderly leadership transition, and to identify an executive who
could build on our market leadership as a disruptor and innovator
and lead our business through its next phase of growth. We believe
we’ve found such a leader in Rich. He is an exceptionally talented
leader with a track record of driving growth and innovation for
some of the world’s most famous brands and corporations. We’re
pleased to welcome Rich to InnerWorkings.”
Mr. Belcher continued, “I am honored to have helped lead the
most talented team in our industry for the last 10 years, and I am
extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished. With the Company
producing record performance and positioned well for continued
long-term growth, we felt now was an opportune time to execute a
leadership transition. I’m very happy we’re setting Rich up for
success and look forward to working with him through this
transition and beyond. I would also like to thank Jack Greenberg, a
longstanding director and our current Chairman, for his seven years
of service in the Chairman role. Jack will continue to serve as a
valued leader on our Board as lead independent director.”
Mr. Greenberg added, “During Eric’s tenure, he led a growth
strategy that has taken InnerWorkings from a Midwest focused print
management business to the world’s leading marketing execution
agency, increasing revenues from $77 million in 2005 to more than
one billion dollars in 2017 and quadrupling our earnings per share.
I’m delighted that Eric will succeed me as Chairman and actively
support Rich as we transition leadership roles and continue to
guide the business toward future growth. As we look ahead, the
Board is excited to welcome Rich as our new Chief Executive
Officer, given his experience managing a global business, his depth
of marketing experience, and his track record serving some of the
largest brands in the world.”
Mr. Stoddart concluded, “I am thrilled to be joining
InnerWorkings at such an exciting time. Eric and the team have done
a tremendous job establishing InnerWorkings as an industry leader,
and we see significant opportunity to leverage our unique position
in the marketplace to grow the business. Our business is aligned
with evolving trends in the way marketing departments operate, and
with our global footprint and technology-focused model, we believe
our comprehensive suite of marketing services is well positioned
for long-term growth. Our value proposition and capabilities in
marketing execution continue to resonate with existing clients, and
I’m eager to begin working with the team to expand market adoption
of InnerWorkings with new clients across the globe.”
Mr. Stoddart began his career in 1985 at Leo Burnett and has
also served in managerial positions at Fallon, another Publicis
Groupe agency headquartered in Minneapolis, as well as the Ford
Motor Company. Mr. Stoddart served as the chairman of the American
Advertising Federation from 2013-2015, and has served as a member
of the Board of Directors of Hasbro Corporation since 2014. He is a
graduate of Dartmouth College and resides in Chicago with his wife
and two daughters.
Mr. Stoddart will join Mr. Belcher and Chip Hodgkins, Interim
Chief Financial Officer, on InnerWorkings’ upcoming earnings
conference call scheduled to take place on February 27, 2018.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains statements relating to future results.
These statements are forward-looking statements under the federal
securities laws. We can give no assurance that any future results
discussed in these statements will be achieved. Any forward-looking
statements represent our views only as of today and should not be
relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date.
These statements are subject to a variety of risks and
uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ
materially from the statements contained in this release. For a
discussion of important factors that could affect our actual
results, please refer to our SEC filings, including the
"Risk Factors" section of our most recently filed Form 10-K.
About InnerWorkings
InnerWorkings, Inc. (NASDAQ: INWK) is the leading global
marketing execution firm serving Fortune 1000 brands across a wide
range of industries. As a comprehensive outsourced enterprise
solution, the Company leverages proprietary technology, an
extensive supplier network and deep domain expertise to streamline
the production of branded materials and retail experiences across
geographies and formats. InnerWorkings is headquartered in Chicago,
IL and employs approximately 1,900 individuals to support global
clients in the execution of multi-faceted brand campaigns in every
major market around the world. InnerWorkings serves many
industries, including: retail, financial services, hospitality,
consumer packaged goods, nonprofit, healthcare, food &
beverage, broadcasting & cable, automotive, and transportation.
For more information visit: www.inwk.com.
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InnerWorkings, Inc.Chip
Hodgkins312.676.5774chodgkins@inwk.comORBridget
Freas312.589.5613bfreas@inwk.com
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