Dynamic, empowered and entrepreneurial, Deidre Smalls-Landau is an award-winning advertising executive who has been at the forefront of the industry for more than 20 years. Deidre serves as Global Chief Cross-Cultural Officer at UM, ensuring under-represented segments are at the core of how we drive growth and determine long-term relationships, while partnering with global and U.S. client leaders to instill cultural research and insights into UM’s planning process. Deidre’s various campaign activations and media experiences span across Automotive, CPG and Healthcare industries.
Being appointed as UM’s first-ever Global Chief Cross-Cultural Officer in 2017 has given Deidre the opportunity to simultaneously drive initiatives that globally impacts UM’s Better Science, Better Art, Better Outcomes process as well as fulfilling her passion to have a workplace that mirrors the world and shape UM as the agency’s most trusted marketing partner. In strengthening, the agency’s product she has introduced a cultural framework, supported by innovative global research to dissect the role social and digital media play in shaping identity, culture and trends This seminal research and data included in the agency’s tools and integral to planning process thus enabling global cross-functional media teams to have all the necessary resources to truly understand culture and strategize with clients to harness and navigate trends. Furthermore, she led the creation of UM’s first diversity effort, Unity 20/40. Deidre fundamentally believes diversity is a true competitive advantage. Her bridging of business strategies to help the organization become smarter about culture and trends, coupled with diversifying the workplace is a critical combination, which helped establish UM as a 2019 Best Place to Work by AdAge.
Deidre is a 2018 Adweek Media All-Star and recipient of the She Runs It Working Mother of the Year award. She served as a judge on the 2018 Cannes Glass Lion Jury as well as the 2018 Global Festival of Media juror. She is on an IPG representative for the Time’s Up Advertising Steering Committee as well as a member of the 4A’s Media Leadership Council — where she advises the industry’s leading trade organization on policy, programming and best practices.
Deidre received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Utica College and currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and twin girls, Nyla and Soleil.