Alycia Mason was named CEO of GroupM’s Wavemaker agency, where she will seek to use her experience as a McDonald’s marketing executive to woo new clients to the large media-investment operation.
Mason was most recently Field Vice President at McDonald’s, helping to support 1,000 restaurants. Prior to that, she was the restaurant chain’s first chief U.S. customer experience officer, a role that had her leading digital experiences through the company’s apps, delivery services and in-restaurant kiosks. She also worked as a vice president of digital customer experience and media.
“In my career, I have always been passionate about leading brands and teams through
transformative industry change, and this next chapter will be no exception,” said Mason, in a statement. “I am drawn to Wavemaker’s inventive culture and am excited to lead the industry-leading talent who
consistently push the boundaries of the modern media experience. Together, we will work
alongside our advertisers to achieve stellar business results and meaningfully impact the
audiences and businesses they care most about.”
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Mason will lead the agency’s U.S. operations and client relationships and will begin
at the end of July. She will report to Sharb Farjami, CEO of GroupM North America.
“Alycia is a proven leader and change agent with an impressive track record of enhancing customer
experiences and delivering impactful business results,” said Farjami, in a statement. “Her digital expertise,
strategic mindset, brand savvy, and experience leading large, integrated teams make her the ideal
leader to drive growth for Wavemaker U.S. Her forward-thinking leadership and brand-side
perspective will be invaluable to our entire organization.”
Before McDonald’s, Mason spent nearly seven years at Publicis Groupe, most recently as EVP
Managing Director and North America Publicis Groupe Lead for Kellogg’s. Her agency experience
also includes leadership roles at Starcom, Mindshare, and OMD, working with clients such as Kraft,
BP, Castrol, JCPenney, and Dell.
She is also the founder of a confectionery startup, Candycopia, which she launched in 2021 with her family. She will be based in both Chicago and New York.
