Executive VP, managing director and global managing partner, UM
At 39, JP Aguirre is one of the youngest global managing partners at the IPG Mediabrands agency UM and the first Latino member of UM’s global leadership team. Under his co-leadership, the San Francisco office of UM has won accounts including Columbia Sportswear, Fitbit, GoPro, Ubisoft and Zillow/Trulia. Its revenue in the 12 months through June 2018 grew 50 percent.
Aguirre says he’s the first in his family to go to college: He studied journalism at the University of San Francisco and received a master’s degree in strategic communications from Columbia University. After deciding he didn’t want to become a journalist, Aguirre took inspiration from his fandom of “Melrose Place” (in which Heather Locklear played ad executive Amanda Woodward) and began applying for media planning jobs. Aguirre sees his age and background as an advantage in understanding different points of view, calling himself a “little bit of a Rosetta Stone.” He says he wants to leave a legacy of bringing diverse talent into the industry. He’s also a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. —Megan Graham
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