GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, has named Lindsey Talbot (pictured) chief investment officer for GroupM Canada with the mandate to handle the investment and partnerships function for agencies Mindshare, MediaCom, Wavemaker and mSix/Essence/Neo.

Talbot has spent the past five year as VP of investment at Wavemaker Canada, and has also held senior investment positions at Maxus and Starcom Mediavest. Although discussions are underway, no replacement for her at Wavemaker has been selected.

Talbot replaces former chief investment officer Sebastian Rennie who is leaving to lead investment at GroupM Australia. Rennie drove significant success in Canada over his tenure including the introduction of new investment management technologies, and the launch, roll out and growth of GroupM’s addressable TV business, Finecast, and Kinetic, its OOH business.

Talbot will be leading GroupM’s Responsible Investment buying framework, a new approach announced by the agency group early last month. The four pillars of guidelines are brand safety; data ethics; DEI (diversity, equality and inclusivity); responsible journalism; and sustainability. This framework guides the agency’s investment activities, evolving valuation, and measurement methods to account for social and environmental impact like a media placement’s carbon emissions and the diversity of audience makeup in addition to a concerted emphasis on local journalism and credible news sources.