Now Mark Rosenthal is going to sit on the other side of the negotiating table.
The former MTV Networks executive has joined the advertising-agency world as president and chief operating officer of Interpublic Group of Cos.
In his new post, Rosenthal, previously president and COO of MTVN, will oversee all of Interpublic's worldwide media operations, including Initiative, MAGNA Global, Universal and a number of leading specialist media agencies.
In addition to an array of media services, those shops offer clients programming and content-development capabilities, as well as functioning in the realms of interactive, retail and media barter.
The company said Rosenthal, who will be based in New York, will also work directly with Interpublic chairman and CEO Michael Roth, to refine and implement a strategy that aligns all of the holding company's media assets and maximizes the benefits they deliver to clients.
His appointment comes just one day after Interpublic lost General Motors Corp.’s $3.2 billion media account in the United States to Starcom MediaVest Group’s GM Planworks.
Rosenthal served as president and COO of MTVN from 1996-2004. During his tenure, IPG said, MTVN's revenue and earnings from the company's operations more than tripled. Additionally, Rosenthal led the restructuring of one of the cable industry's largest advertising-sales groups.
Rosenthal resigned from MTVN last July after Viacom Inc. co-president Tom Freston selected then-MTV Group president Judy McGrath to succeed him as head of MTVN.
