Jim Helberg

Chief Executive Officer at RPA

Santa Monica, California, United States

About

In my 40+ years as a media executive, I have held a seat at the table to some of the greatest evolutions in the history of marketing and media. This powerful perspective has driven me to counsel blue chip clients well beyond today’s consumer market by positioning corporate strategies and investments over a longer-term to capitalize on media, content and messaging that drives financial results. While I absolutely believe marketing and media to be an investment in a brand's success, make no mistake it is a financial expense to every CFO I have ever met. I am probably best known for my work within the automotive category across all tiers for brands including Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and Chrysler, however, I have also served in senior-level positions across a wide portfolio of consumer categories including CPG, airlines, toys, financial and QSR. My philosophy of integrated media and marketing is that everything starts, ends and begins again with the current and/or prospective customer; each campaign, product, and media investment is unique and requires a fresh perspective on highest value targets, in an effort to realize greatest ROI based on initiative objective(s). Beyond clarity of objectives, precision analytics are essential in sales analysis, audience intelligence, predictive business outcome tools and is as close to real time optimization as is possible. All of this is in service of applying precious and sizable resources to ultimately reduce the cost of selling to drive revenue and critical margin.

Experience

  • RPA (9 yrs 5 mos)
    • Chief Executive Officer
      Oct 2025 - Present · 9 mos

    • EVP, Chief Media Officer
      Feb 2017 - Oct 2025 · 8 yrs 9 mos

  • Adjunct Professor of Media Strategy at University of Oklahoma
    2014 - Present · 12 yrs 6 mos

  • Member of The Media Leadership Council at 4A's
    Sep 2020 - Present · 5 yrs 10 mos

  • EVP, Managing Director at Spark Foundry
    Apr 2013 - Apr 2017 · 4 yrs 1 mo

  • Senior Director, VP of Media at RPA
    Aug 2012 - Apr 2013 · 9 mos