David Gaines has joined WPP Media as President, Global Head of Planning, marking a return to the WPP network after previously serving as Global Head of Media Strategy at WPP from September 2018 to May 2020.
Gaines announced the new appointment via a heartfelt LinkedIn post.
Prior to the appointment, he was CEO and founder of Media by Mother from January 2021 to May 2026. Between May 2020 and January 2021, he focused on building the startup.
Before founding Media by Mother, Gaines held several senior leadership positions across WPP-owned media agencies. He served as Chief Strategy Officer at Wavemaker from November 2017 to November 2018 and earlier spent nearly four years at Maxus as Chief Planning Officer, Americas between January 2014 and November 2017.
He also worked as Managing Partner at Edentify Pty Ltd from October 2012 to November 2013. Prior to that, Gaines spent more than seven years at Maxus, serving as CEO from July 2009 to October 2012 and as Managing Director from August 2005 to June 2009.
Earlier in his career, Gaines was Strategic Planning Director, Asia Pacific at Mindshare from August 2001 to August 2005. He has also held roles at Optimedia, Ammirati Puris Lintas and Carat.
