NEW YORK (Diya TV) — Horizon Media Holdings appointed Bhavana Smith as Chief Operating Officer, a newly created role that did not previously exist at the company. Smith brings prior experience from Accenture, Publicis Groupe, and Mediacom, placing her squarely within the operational and technology transformation side of the media and marketing industry.
The appointment is not a routine executive hire. Horizon Media Holdings is the privately held parent company of Horizon Media, the largest independent media agency in the United States and globally. Its portfolio spans Horizon Next (full-service marketing), Horizon Commerce (commerce and digital experiences), Horizon Business (consulting, media, and creative), One Horizon (full-service advertising), HS&E (sports and experiential), and Blue Hour Studios (influencer marketing). The company also holds a 50/50 partnership with Havas Media Network in a performance-driven agency network called Horizon Global.
Smith’s mandate centers on three operational priorities: improving performance management rigor, evolving how the agency deploys its workforce and resources, and leading the embedding of intelligent systems into daily operations. She will oversee capabilities across media, commerce, creative, influencer, and technology.
Bob Lord, president of Horizon Media Holdings and CEO of Horizon Global, framed the appointment within a broader argument that the traditional agency billing model is structurally misaligned with client interests. Horizon is moving away from full-time equivalent billing — the longstanding industry practice of charging clients based on headcount — and toward compensation tied directly to client business outcomes: revenue growth, market share expansion, and customer acquisition.
Central to this shift is HorizonOS, which Horizon launched in December 2025. The company describes it as the first open marketing operating system built on an interoperable ecosystem of external technology partners rather than a closed, proprietary stack. Its architecture combines three components: Blu, the company’s AI-native platform that handles connected marketing orchestration and media management; Agent Q, an internal AI thought partner built on Google Gemini Enterprise and connected to Horizon’s collective institutional knowledge; and HorizonOS Labs, an innovation accelerator that pilots new AI integrations with clients. Orkin and Tropical Smoothie Cafe were named as founding members of HorizonOS Labs at launch.
Since HorizonOS launched, Horizon has added multiple external partners to the ecosystem. In February 2026, Intent IQ integrated its identity resolution technology into HorizonOS’s Blu platform to extend addressability into signal-constrained environments including iOS and connected television. That same month, ZeroToOne.AI integrated its Large Behavioral Model — a predictive intelligence system distinct from standard large language model approaches — to allow marketers to anticipate consumer behavior rather than optimize after the fact. Separately, Sightly launched an AI pilot within HorizonOS Labs to convert cultural and social signals into actionable media planning intelligence within Blu.
Internally, Horizon has moved aggressively on AI proficiency. A 2025 diagnostic conducted with Section found that employees wanted to be AI-first but lacked clarity on how to apply AI in their roles. Within twelve months of that finding, 85 percent of Horizon employees achieved AI proficiency certification, meaning they can safely and effectively apply AI to drive business value.
Smith’s appointment arrives alongside an elevation of three senior leaders who have been at Horizon for over a decade each. Cherie Hankin Calingasan, who has been with Horizon for 12 years, becomes President of Horizon Next, the unit focused on high-potential and disruptor brands. Katie Comerford, with 11 years at the company, becomes President of Horizon Commerce and Client Transformation, overseeing enterprise data strategy and the company’s Client Architect model. Katy Ferguson, with 17 years at the company, becomes President of Horizon Media East, leading client growth, new business development, and strategic direction across verticals for that division.
