Renetta E. McCann

Chief Inclusion Experience Officer, Publicis Groupe

Renetta McCann has been recognized as one of the leading innovators and most influential executives in the advertising, marketing and media industries, with a global reputation for not only building brands, but also the organizations and leadership to sustain them. 

As Chief Inclusion Experience Officer for Publicis Groupe, she works to drive inclusion at all levels of the organization, with an emphasis on ensuring that the company’s clients are benefiting from the many strategic advantages that diverse teams deliver. Taking a true “workplace to marketplace” approach, Renetta works with internal teams to support the protocols and processes associated with Multicultural intelligence and marketing; in addition to working externally with industry bodies to move the entire advertising ecosystem forward in support of more inclusive marketing practices and standards. 

Renetta is no stranger to the Publicis family. She began her career at Leo Burnett, and, after a long tenure, she became the CEO of Starcom MediaVest Group Worldwide. Under her leadership, client billings exceeded $26 billion and the global workforce rose to over 6,000 people. Prior to her current role, she served as the Chief Talent Officer for Leo Burnett USA as well as Publicis Communications North America.

Along the way, Renetta has been an active volunteer and contributor to various industry and civic organizations. Currently she serves on the ANA AIMM Committee and is the co-chair of the DEI track for the organization; is on the Executive Committee of the Chicago Community Trust; the Marketing Committee of the Robert and Ann Lurie Children’s Hospital; the board of Chicago Shakespeare Theatre; and was recently selected to join the board of the HistoryMarkers. 

She is a frequent name in the press. In 2002, she was named "Corporate Executive of the Year" by Black Enterprise magazine and was selected Ad Woman of the Year by the Chicago Advertising Federation. Essence named her one of "50 Women Who are Changing the World” and she received a Matrix Award in 2006 from New York Women in Communications. She has appeared on the pages of Advertising Age, Business Week, and Chicago magazine. In 2014 the American Advertising Federation honored her with a Diversity Achievement Award for her contributions as an Industry Influential and she received The Pantheon Award from the 4A’s MAIP program. Recently, she was featured on Adweek’s list of “11 Inspiring Women Who Have Broken Down Advertising’s Most Persistent Barriers.” In September, 2020, Renetta was honored with an ADCOLOR Lifetime Achievement Award and the Sheldon J. Levy Leadership Award. In October 2020, Renetta received the Chicago Advertising Federation’s Silver Medal Award.

After nearly 30 years of communications management and leadership, she went back to the books, earning an M.S. in Learning and Organizational Change from Northwestern University. She worked as an executive coach and organizational change consultant before rejoining Burnett in the fall of 2012. Currently, she is an adjunct lecturer in the MSLOC program, teaching a course on organizational design. Renetta has also served as a Corporate Director of Tribune Publishing (now named Tronc).

She lives in Chicago with her husband Kevin and children, Ella and Alexander.