ICM Partners has hired former Tribune Publishing chairman and CEO Justin Dearborn as its chief operating officer, effective today. Dearborn was introduced this morning during the agency’s weekly staff meeting.
At ICM, Mr. Dearborn will report to Chris Silbermann, managing director of ICM Partners, and be in charge of agency’s daily business operations. It caps a search that only started a few months ago to fill the COO post after Dan Donahue departed for All3Media.
At Tribune, Dearborn implemented an enhanced digital strategy, with subscribers seeing triple-digit growth, while the publishing company’s market capitalization more than doubled.
“We could not be more thrilled than to have Justin join our team,” said Silbermann in a statement. “We just completed our best year ever and Justin will be a vital part of managing what we see as a clear path for sustainable internal growth, while helping us identify and close strategic partnerships and acquisitions.”
“ICM Partners is poised for sustainable growth and profitability with a client-first strategy that has seen the agency take a leadership role and capitalize on the rapidly growing new entertainment industry economy,” said Dearborn. “Chris and the board have a great vision for their future and I look forward to working with them to implement their aggressive and attainable strategic plan with a fresh view of growth opportunities.”
Prior to Tribune, Dearborn was CEO and board member at Merge Heathcare Inc, a health care technology provider that experienced sustainable growth and value creation from 2008 through its acquisition by IBM in October 2015.
ICM Partners has expanded over the past couple of years with the strategic acquisitions of Headline Media News (Broadcasting), Royce Carlton Agency (Speakers Bureau), Sagalyn Agency (Literary) and global comedy and festival brand Just For Laughs.
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