MDC Partner Network agency, Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal (KBS) recently named Jonathan Mackler, formerly of TBWA, and Dan Kelleher, erstwhile executive creative director at Grey, as its new co-chief creative officers in an announcement that marks a larger staffing shift with Ed Brojerdi assuming the CEO role. The two will be working as partners, overseeing all aspects of the agency's creative work and bringing further big-brand credibility to the agency, whereas Brojerdi will be overseeing day-to-day. These expanded leadership roles have been announced at a time of great momentum for the agency, with several recent new account wins and an expansion into social media with a new practice called 'Attention'.
Mackler and Kelleher will be working as partners, overseeing all aspects of the agency's creative work and bringing further big-brand credibility to the agency
Kelleher's defining work so far has been on Grey's DirecTV campaigns, including the award-winning “Cable Effects” campaign. Mackler, meanwhile, joins KBS after a spell at Figliulo and Partners, which is joined after spending four years at TBWA/Chiat/Day working on top brands like Jameson and Skittles. Brojerdi had been serving as the agency's president and co-CCO alongside Izzy Debelis, who left for an as-yet unspecified creative position within the industry. He'll take the reigns at KBS New York on the 1st of September, and says he believes Mackler and Kelleher will bring big agency and big brand experience to KBS.
Jonathan Mackler (left), Ed Brojerdi (centre) and Dan Kelleher (right)
Brojerdi, who started as the agency's CTO, says that "First and foremost, the aspiration was to shoot for creative excellence,” and he feels Mackler and Kelleher are the perfect men to help them achieve that excellence because they have done “Famous, award-winning work for big brands.” He says KBS will be taking advantage of their combined skill sets and experiences in integrated advertising working on “The biggest of the big; from the Super Bowl, to mobile and experiential.” As CEO, Brojerdi himself will be focusing on bringing in new business, evolving the agency's “Specialisms” in areas such as technology and social media, and expanding the agency globally. He said KBS already have “A great presence in Canada so the push is to expand beyond North America and scale within Europe and Asia."
Lori Senecal says Brojerdi was her “Natural choice” for the role, and knows he will “Continue to implement and inspire a bold, entrepreneurial vision and culture for the agency.”
Lori Senecal, former KBS CEO and recently named president and CEO of the MDC Partner Network, believes Brojerdi was the right man to take her place when she was summoned into the big leagues. She said he has made “An incredible impact on the agency over the last five years, championing its creative vision and inspiring invention” across both the company and its client's businesses. She says Brojerdi was her “Natural choice” for the role, and knows that he will “Continue to implement and inspire a bold, entrepreneurial vision and culture for the agency.”
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Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from the UK. He has been trying for a solid 15 minutes and has yet to find a word that rhymes with Brojerdi. Any ideas?
