Assembly Finds its First Chief Media Officer in Jason Lim

Assembly has hired Jason Lim as its first chief media officer, the agency exclusively confirmed to ADWEEK.

He joins the Stagwell media shop from GroupM’s EssenceMediacom where he previously worked alongside Assembly’s chief executive officer (CEO) Jill Kelly. There Lim served as chief planning officer from 2021, before which he was managing partner since 2010.

In his new role, the exec will oversee Assembly’s media planning and buying across all platforms. He is also responsible for driving omnichannel performance for brand and performance campaigns.

Lim’s hire comes as Assembly is investing in its experiential and activation arm, which currently services clients including Lenovo and Brooks Running.

He will lead a team of over 350 associates across search, social, programmatic, video, SEO, out-of-home (OOH), affiliate, and customer relationship management (CRM).

“When I view experience and activation, it’s not just through the lens of human insight, but also the algorithms and platforms that we have to navigate,” he said.

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Over the past three years, Assembly has won media accounts including Vera Bradley, Brooks Running, Fossil, and most recently, World of Hyatt. Kelly said the creation of a chief media officer role was crucial as the agency looks to scale.

“[We want to] be a brand performance planning partner for our clients,” she added. “For us to [do] that, we have to bring talent into the organization that shares that sentiment, but most importantly, commands the skills to be able to drive towards that goal.”

The business has been steadily growing in recent years, expanding the range of services it offers to clients. In June 2024, fellow Stagwell agency Brand New Galaxy was merged into Assembly, bringing 400 digital commerce experts with it.