After almost 17 years as chief executive officer (CEO) of Colle McVoy, Christine Fruechte is passing the torch to current agency president Jessica Henrichs.
Fruechte will now transition to a strategic advisory role as chair of the mid-size shop.
In her tenure, the leader steered the Minneapolis-based agency through two recessions and the Covid-19 pandemic. Along the way she secured account wins from American Signature Furniture, La-Z-Boy, The Minnesota Star Tribune, Perdue Foods, and Whirlpool.
From Jan. 2025, she will step away from day-to-day agency operations, offering counsel instead. She will continue to hold several external board positions, including at 4A’s, where she is helping in its search for a new CEO to replace Marla Kaplowitz. Fruechte told ADWEEK she now wants to lean into advising and mentoring; “a natural progression” in her career.
“[Colle McVoy] is a [nearly] 90-year-old agency, and it has the heart of a startup, so you need to inject new leadership along the way for the continued success,” she explained.
New CEO Henrichs joined Colle McVoy five years ago from Publicis’ Digitas. Fruechte recruited her to lead client growth before elevating her to president in March 2021.
As CEO, Henrichs will prioritize the agency’s data and technology offerings, and maintain a “social-first” mentality. Internally, she hopes to double Colle McVoy’s learning and development budget and close the gap between remote training and access to opportunities.
“Investing back in our people is the number one way to invest in building our brands,” Henrichs told ADWEEK. “As an agency built on relationships, we’ve got to think differently around how we build and scale our culture and keep our people connected.”
Doubling down on the mid-size model
Under Fruechte and Henrichs, Colle McVoy’s revenue increased 48% between Sept. 2020 and Sept. 2024. Within the same timeframe, the agency said its earnings had increased by 59%. Its workforce minority representation has also tripled, from 10% to 28%, and it became B-corp certified in 2023.
Colle McVoy has recently added other new faces to its C-suite too.
Last year, the agency tapped Ciro Sarmiento as chief creative officer (CCO). It also hired Megan Flynn as chief finance officer (CFO) back in February.
