McCann Erickson Promotes Sean Bryan & Tom Murphy to Co-Chief Creative Officers, New York

NEW YORK, June 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- McCann Erickson New York today announced the promotion of Sean Bryan and Tom Murphy to Co-Chief Creative Officers.  The move follows the expanded roles of Linus Karlsson and Andreas Dahlqvist to global creative leadership positions. Karlsson has been named Chairman of McCann's global Creative Leadership Collective and Chief Creative Officer, Global Brands.  Additionally, Dahlqvist has been named Deputy Chief Creative Officer, Global Brands.

Bryan and Murphy most recently served as co-ECD's with primary responsibility for Verizon, including the agency's FiOS business.  In their new roles, they will maintain primary responsibility for Verizon, as well as oversight of the New York office's other key US clients. They will jointly report to Hank Summy, President, North America, as well as Karlsson and Dahlqvist.

"Andreas and I have watched Sean and Tom grow into smart, natural leaders and it feels great to be able to elevate proven talent from within the organization," said Karlsson. "New York is the global flagship for the network, but it's also the largest office in North America and has an enviable mix of global and national clients. This promotion will allow Andreas and me to focus globally and Sean and Tom to focus on New York."

As Chief Creative Officer for Global Brands, Karlsson will focus on the network's global clients, including his creative leadership role in Commonwealth, the joint venture created to manage Chevrolet globally. Karlsson will maintain his title as Chairman of McCann New York and London.

Andreas Dahlqvist, also a member of the global Creative Leadership Collective (CLC), will remain Vice Chairman of McCann New York and will work directly with Karlsson as Deputy Chief Creative Officer, Global Brands.

The CLC is tasked with inspiring creative authority and excellence throughout McCann's 148 offices globally. Leadership of the CLC rotates on an 18-month basis, and Karlsson succeeds Prasoon Joshi, President, McCann Worldgroup South Asia and Chairman & CCO for McCann Worldgroup India. Other leaders of the nine-member CLC include Washington Olivetto, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer WMcCann, Brazil and Spencer Wong, Chief Creative Officer & Managing Director, Hong Kong.

Nick Brien, Chairman & CEO, McCann Worldgroup, said of Karlsson's role, "Linus has, over the last 15 months, immersed himself in both our New York and global clients and the timing is now ideal for him to focus his experienced creative talent on our global brands."

Brien added, "The ability of Linus and Andreas to fluidly transition between cultures and clients, as well attract top talent and inspire a rich diversity of thinking, make them natural choices for driving the needs of our global brands."

Murphy and Bryan joined McCann NY in 2005 as group creative directors. Their work has included Holiday Inn's Stay You campaign and Sony Ericsson's launch for Xperia Play, as well as the recent Mind of a Child Sony Ericsson global campaign. They spearheaded creative on Verizon Wireless and FiOS initiatives, including the Dead Zones campaign and major product launches such as the LG Chocolate and the Blackberry Storm. Prior to McCann, Bryan and Murphy were creative directors at DDB Chicago, where they helped launch McDonald's I'm Loving It campaign.

"Sean and Tom are two of the smartest creatives in the business and reflect our commitment to be a creatively-driven agency and let the best talent drive great work on behalf of our clients," said Hank Summy, President, McCann North America.

McCann Erickson New York is the flagship and largest office of McCann Erickson Worldwide, with operations in more than 115 countries and a client roster that includes preeminent global marketers and many of the world's most famous brands.  The agency is a unit of McCann Worldgroup, a leading global marketing solutions network, comprised of a collaborative roster of best-in-class agencies that emphasize creativity, innovation and performance.

McCann Worldgroup, one of the world's largest marketing communications companies, is comprised of McCann Erickson Worldwide (the world's largest advertising agency network); MRM Worldwide (digital marketing/relationship management); Momentum Worldwide (event marketing/promotion); McCann Health (professional/dtc communications) and Craft (global production).

SOURCE McCann Erickson New York