Eric Bader Leaves BrandInHand for Strategy Role with Initiative

Eric Bader is leaving BrandInHand, the mobile marketing company he founded in 2007, to assume the newly created role of worldwide strategy officer at Initiative, the Interpublic Group media agency.

Bader was president and co-founder of BrandInHand, which counts BestBuy and ABC News among its clients. The New York-based firm, with an additional office in Santa Monica, is also mobile agency of record for Procter & Gamble. (Bader is a columnist for ClickZ.)

Mobile strategy will be only part of Bader’s charge at Initiative, where he will oversee “planning and insight” across the network, according to a release. Bader will report to worldwide CEO Richard Beaven and take a position on the worldwide leadership team.

“[I]t’s the first time someone with a primarily digital career has been named to a chief strategy position” at Initiative, wrote Bader in an e-mail message, “reflecting the new requirements for leading in the new media economy.” He noted that he had not yet started in the new position, and that “specific priorities have not been confirmed.”

Prior to founding BrandInHand, Bader was SVP and managing director of Digital at MediaVest Worldwide, a division of Publicis. He was formerly the head of online enterprises at CSTV Networks (now CBSSports) and, prior to that, executive director of interactive marketing at Ogilvy.

“Having someone of Eric’s reputation and experience – as an entrepreneur, strategist, digital visionary and outstanding client lead – will be of enormous benefit to Initiative as we move forward with our performance-led approach to communications,” Beaven said in a written statement. “Eric will help our teams around the world take our work to the next level, so we continue to deliver breakthrough results for clients.”

You can follow Douglas Quenqua on Twitter at @DQuenqua.