Talon appoints Ryan Laul as North America Chief Executive Officer
Talon, the global independent Out of Home (OOH) agency, today announced the appointment of Ryan Laul as its North American CEO. Laul will lead the continued growth of Talon’s business in North America, assuming the role on June 23, 2024. Reporting into Sue Frogley, Group CEO, Laul will join Talon’s global board.
Laul is a seasoned OOH media executive with an excellent track record of delivering growth and overseeing commercial investment across all media disciplines. He brings a wealth of OOH and Digital experience, joining Talon from Omnicom where he spent the last 13 years, initially as President of Outdoor Media Group, the largest OOH specialist in North America, managing OOH spend across over 200 clients, including 8 of the top 12 OOH spenders in the US. Most recently he served as President of OMnet, Omnicom’s principal investment group.
Under Laul’s leadership, Omnicom executed the largest data-driven OOH campaign, integrated mobile audience data into fundamental planning and buying, developed the largest demand-side resource for DOOH media and became the first company ever to establish a cinema upfront with the nation’s largest supplier.
Before that he started his OOH career at Zenith Media and then moved to Outdoor Vision/ Posterscope where he spearheaded the Digital Division – Hyperspace.
Laul also sits on the board of directors of the Advertising Club of New York, helping to provide leadership in connecting the OOH industry with young professionals and previously sat on the Agency Advisory Boards of the OAAA, DPAA and Geopath.
According to recent data released by the OAAA, Out of home (OOH) advertising revenue increased 6.8% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous year, accounting for $1.94 billion. This is a continuing growth trend based on the medium’s growth trajectory and increased revenue reported in 2023.
Sue Frogley, Group CEO, said: “Ryan is a values-driven business leader with exceptional strategic capabilities. I am delighted to have someone of Ryan’s caliber with deep Out of Home and Digital experience leading our North America business. I look forward to working with Ryan and our teams to deliver Talon’s next chapter of growth.”
Ryan Laul said: “Out of Home has long been my passion and I cannot wait to return to this exciting industry. Talon has an innovative and evolving business model in North America and I look forward to not only enabling Talon to realize its full potential as the leading OOH Agency in North America but secure the medium’s role in the broader advertising ecosystem and propel the industry forward.”
Stewart Easterbrook, Chairman, said “Following rigorous selection processes I am thrilled to have both Sue and Ryan join Talon later this month. Their strength and experience leading global media businesses will deliver great results on both sides of the pond. I am hugely excited for them to join and to work together to drive the ambition of Talon and deliver business performance.”