Kat Bozicevich - MEFA Media Matriarchs 2026
- nadine campbell
- Mar 13
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 19
This Women's History Month, Media For All is proud to celebrate 'The Media Matriarchs' redefining UK Media boardrooms.
We asked 10 questions to women making history now, kicking off the series with powerhouse and MEFA member Kat Bozicevich, CEO of MG OMD
" I’m Kat Bozicevich. I’ve planned and bought media for over two decades, with a short, memorable stint in a creative agency before returning to the media fold. I was adopted from the Philippines at a young age by American parents, and grew up in London. Despite always being different to a greater or lesser extent to those around me, it has taken me a while to embrace my diversity, but as I slowly meet more people who share my background I am learning what it means to have Filipina heritage, and one day hope to be able to share it proudly with my two sons."
About MG OMD
Manning Gottlieb OMD, the prominent London-based media planning and buying agency, recognised as one of the most awarded in the UK and globally. Part of the Omnicom Media Group, the agency is known for high-profile client work and a strong focus on creativity, data, and effectiveness.
Often described as the largest agency within Omnicom Media Group UK, the agency has been named in The Sunday Times' Best Places to Work (2023–2025).
In 2024 and 2025, the agency won numerous "Agency of the Year" titles, including Campaign's Media Agency of the Year and Media Week's Agency of the Year.
1. Growing up, did you ever imagine yourself becoming CEO of one of the UK’s largest media agencies — and what helped you believe it was possible?
Absolutely not – growing up I wanted to be a marine biologist or an FBI agent! But my first proper job at Walker Media gave me purpose, a community and sense of belonging, and I never looked back. That’s not to say I thought I would ever lead an agency though – the belief I could do that came much later, as I started to understand that there are many different successful leadership models and that my leadership approach was as valid as anyone else’s.
2. What’s one moment in your career where being “different” felt like a disadvantage — but later proved to be a strength?
I’m relatively introverted, and media can be a gregarious place with a lot of loud voices. For me, profile building has always felt uncomfortably like self-promotion, and I struggled with issuing thought leadership – not because I didn’t have anything to say but because I wasn’t sure anyone wanted to hear it. I’m more comfortable in the extrovert space now, but I still protect that ability to listen, reflect & be still when I need to work through really complex issues.
3. As a woman of South-East Asian heritage, what have you had to unlearn to succeed in senior leadership?
There is a huge pull to “blend in” and I rejected my differences for nearly two decades. I found it significantly easier to embrace difference in others once I embraced my own.
5. How do you stay authentic at the top of a very commercial, high-pressure industry?
The way I see it is, you can’t afford not to be authentic. It takes a lot of energy to navigate our constantly evolving world, and if you can’t show up as yourself then you are using your valuable energy to appease an imperfect system rather than to create impact for yourself, your clients and your business. So it’s a discipline, but you have to learn to be comfortable in vulnerability, and hold that at the same time as responsibility.
6. What advice would you give to someone from an underrepresented background who feels they have to work twice as hard to be seen?
Be choiceful, prioritise maximum impact and then learn to market that impact. As your career develops, the model of doing more than the next person stops working because there’s a ceiling to how much time you have so it’s worth learning the art of discernment early. I’ll be honest, I’m still on the journey!
I’d also say seek broad advice – I am privileged to have had a father who built a successful career and passed lessons down to me about how to thrive in a corporate setting, but I know very few people from underrepresented backgrounds have access to that kind of career guidance. Mentoring communities like MEFA are incredible resources to tap into.
8. How do you balance ambition with wellbeing, especially when expectations are high and visibility is constant?
It’s a terrible thing when ambition and wellbeing are an either/or equation but I know it’s the truth for many people. Setting and articulating your boundaries explicitly is a critical skill, it helps you to manage expectations early and people are likely to respect you more for it. But it does take both confidence, practice and encouragement to enforce them.
9. What role have mentors, sponsors, or allies played in your journey — and how do you now pay that forward?
Every CEO I’ve worked under at MG has helped create the leader I am today. Robert Ffitch let me lead my first pitch, Tim Pearson brought me into our Steering Group and Natalie Bell made me her MD – giving me a safe space to learn the business, encouraging me to find my feet in the wider industry, supporting my personal development journey and lending me confidence if mine was ever low. Each of them made me feel seen and I try to bring that to everyone I work with, reflecting their strengths and achievements back to them whenever I can.
10. On International Women’s Day, what message would you most want the next generation of diverse talent in media to hear?
That they are what we’re doing all of this for! We are facing so many new frontiers, and we have this incredible opportunity to shape this industry for the next 5, 10, 20 years so that they can thrive in it, so I would love to see them commit to it, engage with it, & challenge us to be better every day – they can be the difference that matters.
MEFA thanks Kat for her incredible contribution to media and for her time to interview for the Media Matriarch's Series for Women's History Month 2026.
Creative by Nadine Campbell | ACE Consultancy
Comments