October, 2026.- Crossmedia believes independence is no longer simply a different ownership model—it is a different way of building an agency. Ali Plonchak, Chief Growth & Corporate Strategy Officer, explains that paired with their one-sided business model, where they are compensated only by clients and not by media, technology, or data sellers, independence creates a high level of trust. From a growth perspective, they are not pushing a latest profit center. They are focused on understanding what clients need and building around those needs.
In this interview, Plonchak and Bobby Singh, Chief Financial & Operating Officer, discuss the single growth mandate that brings new business, marketing, and corporate strategy under one umbrella. The biggest opportunity is speed: hearing the need, building the solution, and getting it into clients’ hands faster. On scaling globally, Singh notes that holding companies have largely built scale through acquisitions, which often leaves each market office with different systems, standards, and cultural values. As an independent agency, Crossmedia’s goal is to scale through organic growth and acquisition while maintaining consistent operational standards, values, culture, and methodologies across markets—enough consistency to operate as one agency and enough flexibility to serve local client needs.
Success, for Singh, is simple: clients should be able to say, “Crossmedia is our most trusted agency partner.”
Ali Plonchak (Chief Growth & Corporate Strategy Officer): From COO to Chief Growth & Corporate Strategy Officer.
- You spent two decades at Crossmedia, most recently as COO, and now you’re leading growth and corporate strategy. How does your operational background give you a unique perspective on where growth opportunities actually exist?
Growing Crossmedia over the last 20- plus years required an entrepreneurial mindset in terms of running and building our agency. But also understanding clients and their businesses: building solutions that solve their problems better than anyone else.
My operations background gives me a practical lens on growth. I understand how clients and agencies function day- to- day and where better ways of working can create value. Ideas are important, but the harder part is turning them into solutions people can adopt and scale effectively. I tend to evaluate opportunities by asking two questions: what is the client benefit, and how will this work in practice?
- Listening Before the Industry Has a Name For It: You said the biggest growth opportunities come from “listening to what clients need before the industry has a name for it.” Can you give an example of a capability or service Crossmedia built because a client needed it before the market had defined it?
Crossmedia builds solutions with the client benefit at the center. A big reason is our one- sided business model: we are paid by our clients, not by media, technology, or data sellers. That independence allows us to act as true advocates and build around client needs, not market incentives.
A strong example is the way we approached biddable media in the early 2010s and kept that process and our corresponding values consistent ever since. Clients were not yet asking questions about transparency, data ownership, or technology stewardship because the industry had not identified it as an issue. But we were asking those questions on their behalf. We built our biddable media practice around full operational transparency, so clients know which technology, data, and inventory are being used, and understand that they own the data generated from the investments.
We created our integrated analytics practice around a simple belief: intelligence should not be constrained by media spend. Whether a client needs to understand long- term brand equity, short- term business performance, or both, they deserve access to meaningful measurement and insight.
Recently, we made significant investments in Sports & Entertainment and CrossCommerce. In both sponsorships and commerce, we saw clients trying to navigate siloed solutions. As the name
- Independence as a Different Way of Building an Agency: Crossmedia believes independence is “no longer simply a different ownership model” but “a different way of building an agency.” What does that mean in practice for how you approach growth and client partnerships?
We believe independence is not simply a different ownership model; it is a unique way of thinking and operating. It gives our people the freedom to think for themselves and for their clients every day, without outside influence. Paired with our one- sided business model where we are compensated only by clients, not by media, technology, or data sellers, that independence creates a high level of trust.
From a growth perspective, we are not pushing the agency’s latest profit center or pursuing opportunities that fit a predetermined agenda. We are focused on understanding what clients need and build around those needs. It also means being selective about who we partner with, because the right growth comes from strong client relationships.
Our goal is to attract ambitious brands trying to solve real business problems with media, brands that value full- funnel thinking and integrated solutions, and clients who value honesty and integrity from their agency partner.
In the age of AI, it is becoming increasingly clear which organizations have done the hard work of defining their challenges and thinking strategically about what they need from an agency partner. Media is often a client’s largest marketing investment. That deserves holistic, neutral, analytical, and deeply human thinking. That is what our people bring to every client relationship, and it is the same mindset we look for from our clients.
- The Single Growth Mandate: Your role brings new business, marketing, and corporate strategy under one umbrella. Why is it important to unify these functions, and what’s the biggest opportunity in having them under a single leader?
Bringing new business, marketing, and corporate strategy together creates a direct connection between what we are hearing in the market, what clients need, and what we build next.
The biggest opportunity is speed. Hearing the need, building the solution, and getting it into clients’ hands faster.
New business exposes us to the challenges brands are trying to solve. Marketing helps us understand where the industry is headed and how to articulate our point of view. Corporate
strategy ensures we are investing in the capabilities, talent, and products that create the greatest client value.
When those functions are connected, we can quickly deliver solutions. And because we are independent, we can do it with complete neutrality. We are not trying to sell clients a predefined profit center. We are focused on understanding the problem, building what works, and creating an advantage for their business.
- The World’s Most Trusted Media Agency: Kamran Asghar said the ambition is to become “the world’s most trusted media agency.” What does trust mean in a media agency context, and how do you measure whether you’re earning it?
I love this question because it gets to the heart of why agencies were created in the first place. An agent is supposed to be a neutral partner that puts the client’s interests at the center of every decision. Too much of the media industry today acts more like a reseller than an agent.
Crossmedia was built differently. From day one, we have been committed to being a neutral advocate for clients. Every practice we build, every solution we develop, and every recommendation we make is grounded in independence and objectivity. That creates trust.
Trust is not just about transparency. It is what allows clients and agencies to make courageous decisions together: breaking down channel silos, developing media mixes that are not driven by platform agendas, and making investment decisions based on true incrementality and business outcomes.
We measure trust through regular client and employee surveys, industry- leading retention rates, and the work itself. Are our plans neutral? Are our recommendations objective? Are the results delivering business impact? Trust should show up not only in what people say about us, but in the decisions we make and the outcomes we create together.
Ultimately, becoming the world’s most trusted media agency is not a marketing statement. It is a daily commitment to putting client interests first. Do that consistently, and trust becomes the foundation for everything else.
Bobby Singh: From CFO to CFOO: You joined Crossmedia as CFO and have expanded into Chief Financial & Operating Officer.
- How does adding operational oversight to your financial role change how you think about growth, and what’s the biggest opportunity in combining these two functions?
I don’t define growth only in terms of numbers. I define it by how we improve, developing better skills, standards, and craft. My remit allows me to align with the internal operation and client deliverables. And because I grew up a bit of a unicorn in the industry given my prior roles, I am able to see our agency through the lens of our clients, and speak their language. In all my roles, I’ve had direct relationships with CMOs; not just procurement and finance. I don’t see myself as
a finance or operational professional, but as a business partner. Too many financial decisions are made from a spreadsheet without the connection of internal operations to client needs. Combining finance and operations lets me connect those dots: so we can make the right investments, creating a tighter link between strategy and execution.
- Sustainable Growth Without Adding Layers: You said, “sustainable growth isn’t about adding layers of process.” How do you build an operating model that enables speed and better decisions without creating bureaucracy?
Since 2020, businesses have moved from one disruption to the next: the pandemic, supply chain pressure, inflation, labor market shifts, geopolitical uncertainty, and now AI reshaping business models. There hasn’t been a sustained period of certainty. If you listen to investor calls, three themes come through consistently: agility, speed, and innovation.
So my job isn’t to add more layers. It’s to create clarity: clear decision rights, common standards, better visibility, and technology that removes manual work. This is all enabled by trust, which is the North Star at Crossmedia. We want to be the most trusted agency. That starts with the agency’s DNA.
We have a mature leadership team, and many have decades of tenure, which provides a layer of consistency and confidence, while providing employees with the autonomy to act. We’re building a standard foundation beneath the business while preserving the flexibility to solve each client’s challenges. That combination lets us pivot in real time, moving faster, and bringing innovative solutions through our own technology and the right partnerships without creating bureaucracy.
- The Independent Agency Operating Model: Crossmedia is expanding across the U.S., Europe, and Canada. What’s the biggest operational challenge in scaling an independent agency globally without losing the agility and accountability that distinguish it from holding companies?
Holding companies have largely built scale through acquisitions. That often leaves each market office with different systems, standards, cultural values, ways of working, and even a different vision. Instead of a single seamless network, the result can be a patchwork of agencies stitched together, often with competing interests because each office has its own P&L to manage and earnouts to achieve. You’d be surprised at the amount of competition there is between offices within a single Network brand.
As an independent agency, our goal is to scale through organic growth and acquisition while maintaining consistent operational standards, values, culture, training, tools, systems, and methodologies across markets. The key is to replicate the foundation without making every market identical. We need enough consistency to operate as one agency and enough flexibility to serve local client needs.
- Financial Discipline and Client Trust: How does financial discipline translate into better client outcomes? Where do you see the connection between how an agency manages its own finances and how it serves its clients?
To me, financial discipline and client service are not separate ideas. Discipline gives us the ability to invest deliberately in talent, technology, analytics, and capabilities, and to keep those investments focused on what creates value for clients. It also forces clarity about what to prioritize, where resources are going, and whether the operating model is sustainable. That matters to clients because an agency that understands its own economics can make better long- term commitments, staff responsibly, and be transparent about trade- offs. Trust is built when clients can see that recommendations are being made for their business outcomes, not because the agency has another economic agenda.
- The Next Era of Independent Growth: Crossmedia is entering its 27th year and positioning for its next era of growth. What does success look like for you in this expanded role, and what’s the single most important thing you’re building to support it?
Success is simple: our clients should be able to say, “Crossmedia is our most trusted agency partner.” Everything I am building in this expanded role is in service of that ambition. A stronger operating foundation, smarter investment discipline, and the systems, teams, and partnerships that allow us to deliver better work with greater speed, consistency, and trust.
