For decades, women and people of color have been underrepresented in the top echelons of the marketing industry. At GroupM, Gila Wilensky is helping to elevate a new, more diverse generation of marketing leaders.

When Essence became part of GroupM in 2015, Gila—then the director on Google for search and biddable media at the time—knew that being part of the world’s largest media-buying organization would be different. What she didn’t expect was to end up with U.S. oversight of the world’s largest programmatic services firm—and the power to help determine what the next generation of marketing leaders would look like.

But Gila has always been passionate about nurturing young talent. “I’m primarily driven by my love for creating something new and moving it toward a goal,” says Gila, who became US President of Xaxis in 2020. That drive gives her a special knack for building media strategies for clients, “but it also makes me want to help up-and-coming marketers navigate their careers and accomplish their goals.”

Because of her position, Gila gets to interact with plenty of team members every day. And because she is a part of GroupM, a company with nearly 40,000 employees in 80 countries around the world, she has the resources of an expansive global network to help her assist in their career development.

And Gila is constantly mindful of who gets access to those opportunities. “I know what it means for women to see a woman in a position of leadership,” she says. “If you see someone who looks like you, who represents you, at the top, then it’s easier to picture yourself there, too.” Today, Gila is striving to make tomorrow’s leadership teams more representative and diverse. And because she’s doing so at GroupM, she has the power to make a lasting impact.

“I believe that if you can see it, you can dream it,” says Gila. “I love that I’m able to help emerging talent do both.”