McCann Worldgroup has replaced CCO Rob Reilly (off to WPP as its creative supremo) with the surprise appointment of Alex Lopez from Nike as Worldgroup’s new president and global CCO. Lopez seems full of surprises as there doesn’t seem to be a picture of him anywhere – so we’ll have to make do with Nike’s Colin Kaepernick instead.
In a long career at Nike Lopez has been V-P global marketing, men’s creative director and co-founder and head of Waffle Iron Entertainment, Nike’s branded content operation.
Lopez says: “I am thrilled to move from the most exciting consumer brand in the world to one of the most creative and effective marketing companies in the world. I see a tremendous opportunity to not only partner with the incredible creative talent in place globally across the agencies but to help lead McCann Worldgroup to be the most important partner to its clients and relentlessly pursue creativity based on a holistic and strategic understanding of their clients’ businesses.”
McCann CEO Bill Kolb says: “We are looking at a broader future and what it means for us to be a leader in the business of creativity. Bringing Alex on board allows us to redefine the role of global chief creative officer and sets us on a path to help our network, and our clients, plan an even greater creative future for their brands and businesses. It will define how we do business, what the future of integrated marketing looks like, and how we measure our success.”
Sometimes these cross-discipline big hires work, often they don’t. Clients often find working in agencies unnerving when a big account reviews or departs and the whole operation goes into meltdown. But the appointment of Lopez is a bold move by what remains adland’s most consistent network performer.
