Donald Williams
Board Member | Corporate Governance | Digital Media Transformation | CSO / CDO / CMO
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About
Board-level executive and strategic advisor with two decades leading corporate governance, enterprise digital strategy, and media monetization across agencies, brands, and platforms. As CSO & Executive Advisor at Media Consulting Group, set the strategic agenda and own commercial strategy, product positioning, and global service-line expansion. Proven record of building governance frameworks, systems, and processes that elevate executive accountability and operational performance — overseeing KPIs, performance reporting, and cross-functional execution for enterprise media strategies and strategic alliances at scale.
Track record of driving measurable growth and digital transformation across a $1B digital marketing services organization: led integrated CTV, programmatic, influencer (Blue Hour Studios), and retail-media (Night Market) service lines, and served on the Corporate Development team shaping strategic investments. Trusted advisor to senior leadership, executive committees, and investor-facing stakeholders across the digital media, adtech, and emerging technology ecosystems — with a proven record of leading large teams and delivering measurable board-level outcomes in dynamic environments undergoing market expansion or corporate repositioning.
Experience
Executive Advisor & Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) - Media Consulting Group - New York, NY
(2026-01)
Set the firm's strategic agenda and governance cadence, deepening agency and brand relationships and sharpening MCG's positioning as the eyes and ears of demand on the supply side.
- Set the strategic agenda for the firm and sharpen how MCG positions itself as the eyes and ears of demand on the supply side for agency and brand partners.
- Own commercial strategy, product positioning, and partnership development to accelerate MCG's global footprint.
- Own commercial strategy, product positioning, and strategic alliances — overseeing KPIs, performance reporting, and cross-functional execution to accelerate MCG's global service-line expansion.
- Advise senior leadership, executive committees, and investor-facing stakeholders across the digital media, adtech, and emerging technology ecosystems on go-to-market, product, talent, and customer acquisition.
Chief Digital Officer & Chief Marketing Officer - LAMARK - Boca Raton, FL
(2025-01 - 2026-01)
Drive digital innovation and marketing at this full-service performance-marketing firm. Develop strategies that catalyze brand awareness, consumer engagement, and accelerated customer acquisition across multiple channels and platforms.
- Head an integrated suite of digital media, creative, and analytics capabilities; accelerate adoption of AI and programmatic solutions and lead initiatives that enhance channel planning, measurement, and analytics.
- Grew gross sales by +15% YoY while dramatically improving staff and team operational efficiency, installing a custom business intelligence suite with predictive planning / forecasting to strengthen performance reporting and executive accountability.
- Propelled thought leadership and a strong, collaborative culture while pinpointing commercially viable technology partnerships; recognized as OnConference's Top 100 Marketer of the Year for CY26.
EVP, Chief Digital Officer - Horizon Media - New York, NY
(2010-01 - 2025-01)
Led vision, strategy, and execution for all digital initiatives, supervising seven direct reports in New York and 250 indirect reports worldwide across digital marketing, performance media, digital experiences, innovation, and advertising operations.
- Scaled the Digital practice from 20 to 400 professionals with billings growing 80X over the decade — establishing governance, KPIs, and performance reporting across a global, multi-office organization.
- Secured and grew board-level mandates with Fortune 100 clients across retail, financial services, CPG, technology, automotive, restaurants, healthcare, and travel.
- Architected and governed the launch of new enterprise service lines — Social Marketing, Mobile Strategy & Creative Services, and a VR/AR innovation practice — building the teams, processes, and accountability frameworks from the ground up.
- Built and scaled the industry's first transparent agency trading desk, delivering 50% revenue growth in year one and consistent 30% YoY gains thereafter through disciplined media monetization.
- Directed the agency's blockchain and emerging-tech strategy, and served as a strategic advisor to organizations including INNOVID, Nielsen, Cognitive (Watson / The Weather Company), and VMA.
Vice President of Digital Strategy - Horizon Media - New York, NY
(2006-01 - 2010-01)
- Managed digital strategy and operations, partnering with brand planning teams to build insights into pricing trends, media performance, category research, and client and vendor relationship management for Fortune 500 clients.
- Facilitated the integration of an acquired digital marketing company, transitioning and onboarding 20 new team members.
- Introduced the agency's first social marketing capability team and solution.
Digital Supervisor - Ignited - El Segundo, CA
Digital Supervisor - Carat Global - Los Angeles, CA
Marketing Coordinator - MullenLowe - London, UK
Education
Bachelor of Arts Degree - Communications - University of Wisconsin–Madison
