CMI Media Group Expands Executive Team With 2 New Hires

In a high-powered case of workplace homecoming, CMI Media Group is welcoming two alumni back into the fold. 

The WPP-owned healthcare media and marketing agency has appointed Michele Sirkin and Selamawit Gilagaber to its executive team, effective immediately. Both leaders had previously spent the better part of a decade at CMI before departing for Omnicom-owned agencies. 

Sirkin has been named chief media operations officer, putting her in charge of CMI’s “cross department process optimization and resource management,” per Tuesday’s announcement, and the agency’s evolving strategy in a world of increasing collaboration between humans and artificial intelligence. 

Sirkin’s first stretch at CMI began in 2011 and culminated in her tenure as senior VP of media. She left in 2020 for Initiative—then owned by Interpublic Group—where she worked as head of HCP, communications design up until her return to CMI this summer. 

Gilagaber, meanwhile, was originally at CMI from 2015 to 2024, at which point she left her role as executive VP of business insights to take on a leadership role on the data and analytics team at SOLVE(D), another former IPG property. Two years later, she’s back at CMI, where she’ll take on the role of executive VP of insights and intelligence, heading up the agency’s work translating data-driven insights into client media strategies. 

solli’s Final Thoughts 

Sirkin and Gilagaber’s appointments at CMI exemplify the importance of two key focuses in pharma media: AI and data. 

AI adoption and the implementation of smarter data strategies are accelerating across the industry, with new uses for both technologies cropping up practically every day. Leadership roles in these areas will be increasingly important as agencies look to successfully navigate an AI-powered world and use data for predictive analytics and more precise targeting. 

As an added bonus, Sirkin’s appointment in particular nods to a few other issues top of mind in the industry. For one, her new role’s focus on cross-department operations comes as agencies more and more seek to break down siloes between departments to improve collaboration and efficiency across the board. For another, her background and expertise in HCP marketing suggest that the area remains a key piece of an agency strategy—especially as regulators continue to keep patient-centric marketing in their crosshairs.