Global CCO Alex Lopez to leave McCann as Harjot Singh appointed group-wide CSO

McCann and its global president and chief creative officer Alex Lopez – the former Nike marketer who joined the agency group in 2021 – are parting ways as part of an ongoing restructure at the overarching McCann Worldgroup network.

News of Lopez's departure comes a week after Campaign reported that McCann global chairman and chief executive Chris Macdonald is set to leave the business at the end of the first quarter of 2023 and return to the UK for family reasons.

As a result, McCann Worldgroup global CEO Daryl Lee will become McCann global CEO in addition to his current duties, in a new combined role designed to bring about greater collaboration across McCann Worldgroup and McCann ad agency.

Today, Lee has revealed details of further management changes, including the promotion of McCann global chief strategy officer Harjot Singh to global CSO of McCann Worldgroup. Singh will continue with his current role but will now lead strategy across all Worldgroup companies.

Singh's move to the group CSO role sees Suzanne Powers, currently global president and CSO, promoted to chair of FutureBrand and global chief product officer of McCann Worldgroup, to "[elevate] creative and strategic product excellence, innovation, and thought leadership across Worldgroup agencies" and integrate FutureBrand's design capabilities across the group.

Elsewhere, Kate MacNevin, global chair and CEO of MRM is being promoted to global chief operating officer of McCann Worldgroup, to "optimise day-to-day operations"; and Nanette Dufour will take up the new role of chief sustainability officer in addition to her duties as chief client officer of the network.

Lopez's departure comes as the group said the global CCO roles at McCann Worldgroup and McCann would be combined into a "single, global CCO position". An appointment would be announced in due course, the company said.

Lopez commented that he was "proud of the strides we've made, especially in bringing a brand perspective to how we work and our moves into entertainment".

He added: "As the CCO role shifts to one that will be focused more on traditional advertising in their daily work, I am stepping aside to allow someone to take over who will bring the same passion to the job as I did during my time leading the organisation. I have loved my time at McCann Worldgroup and wish the team here all the best."

Lopez was appointed in October 2021, joining from Nike, where he had held several leadership positions, including vice-president of global marketing, men's creative director, and co-founder and global head of studio at Nike's production arm, Waffle Iron Entertainment.

Lee said Lopez had been a "powerful force for change and reinvention at the group", "championing creative diversity in all its forms and pioneering our fast-growing entertainment practice".

In a release issued today, McCann Worldgroup said the changes were part of an "underlying goal [to] create the conditions for greater collaboration and agility between the companies in the McCann Worldgroup network".

Those companies include McCann (advertising), MRM (martech and relationship marketing), Craft (production) and FutureBrand (brand strategy and design). It also said changes would "further [strengthen] the McCann flagship agency".

(This article first appeared on CampaignLive.co.uk)