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Kris Magel

Dealmaker

Kris Magel is a media and advertising executive currently serving as Head of Global Agency Partnerships at FreeWheel, where he focuses on strengthening relationships between the ad-tech platform and the agency community. He brings deep agency-side expertise from a distinguished tenure at Initiative (IPG Mediabrands), where he rose to President after serving as Chief Investment Officer, and from earlier senior roles in media investment across IPG Mediabrands. His career spans both the buy side and technology sides of the advertising industry.

Last updated Jun 11, 2026 by ATDb automated enrichment

Role
Head of Global Agency Partnerships
Company
FreeWheel
Based
New York, New York, United States
Connections
2
Years in industry
25 years

Bio

Kris Magel is a media and advertising executive currently serving as Head of Global Agency Partnerships at FreeWheel, where he focuses on strengthening relationships between the ad-tech platform and the agency community. He brings deep agency-side expertise from a distinguished tenure at Initiative (IPG Mediabrands), where he rose to President after serving as Chief Investment Officer, and from earlier senior roles in media investment across IPG Mediabrands. His career spans both the buy side and technology sides of the advertising industry.

Career

  • President

    Initiative (IPG Mediabrands) · 2018-2023

  • Chief Investment Officer

    Initiative (IPG Mediabrands) · 2015-2018

  • Senior Investment Leadership

    IPG Mediabrands · prior to 2015

Expertise & education

Expertise

Agency PartnershipsMedia InvestmentConnected TV (CTV)Programmatic AdvertisingAd-Tech Platform StrategyBuy-Side Media StrategyVideo AdvertisingAgency-Technology Relations

Education

  • Bachelor's Degree, University details not publicly confirmed

Speaking topics

Agency and ad-tech platform partnershipsMedia investment strategyThe future of TV and video advertisingBuy-side perspectives on programmatic and CTV

Recognition

Notable achievements

  • Appointed Head of Global Agency Partnerships at FreeWheel in 2024, tasked with deepening relationships between the ad-tech platform and the global agency community
  • Rose to President of Initiative (IPG Mediabrands), one of the largest media agencies in the world, after serving as its Chief Investment Officer
  • Oversaw major media investment deals and negotiations representing billions in client spend during tenure at IPG Mediabrands
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