Christine Fruechte, long-time CEO of Colle McVoy, arms over duties to Jessica Henrichs
After nearly 17 years as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of McVoy Glue, Christine Früchte passes the torch to the current president of the agency Jessica Henrichs.
Fruechte will now take on a strategic advisory role as president of the mid-sized store.
During her tenure, the executive led the Minneapolis-based agency through two recessions and the Covid-19 pandemic. Along the way, she won accounts with American Signature Furniture, La-Z-Boy, the Minnesota Star Tribune, Perdue Foods and Whirlpool.
From January 2025, she will move away from everyday life agency operations, instead offering advice. She will continue to hold several external board positions, including at 4A, where she is involved in the search for a new CEO to replace Marla Kaplowitz. Fruechte told ADWEEK that she now wants to move into consulting and mentoring; “a natural progression” in his career.
“[Colle McVoy] is a [nearly] 90-year-old agency, and it has the heart of a startup, so you have to inject new leadership throughout the process for 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 put agency first data And technology offers and maintain a “social first” mentality. Internally, she hopes to double Colle McVoy’s learning and development budget and close the gap between distance learning and access to opportunities.
“Reinvesting in our people is the best way to invest in the development of our brands,” Henrichs told ADWEEK. “As a relationship-based agency, we need to think differently about how we build and grow our culture and keep our people connected. »
Double down on the mid-size model
Under Fruechte and Henrichs, Colle McVoy’s revenue grew 48% between September 2020 and September 2024. In the same time frame, the agency said its profits grew 59%. Minority representation in its workforce also tripled, from 10% to 28%, and it became B-corp certified in 2023.
Colle McVoy recently added more new faces to her C-suite.
Last year, the agency called on Ciro Sarmiento as Chief Creative Officer (CCO). The company also hired Megan Flynn as chief financial officer (CFO) in February.
As ADWEEK Voted US Mid-Size Agency of the Year 2023doubling the mid-size model is something Henrichs sees as a benefit for Colle McVoy because “it allows us to go deep where we need to for our customers while still remaining really connected,” she said .
“We all have access to tools and technologies that can help us scale as a mid-sized agency where we need to,” she said.
