McCann Australia CEO Ash Farr will head to Detroit after landing a global role within the network, as director of strategy and research on the General Motors Chevrolet account.
Sydney MD Adam Lee said Farr had been a huge asset to the Australian business and while it was very much “business as usual”, the agency would be moving to a new localised structure led by the managing directors of its Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane agencies.
The news, which was first revealed by Mumbrella, will see Farr, who has been CEO at the IPG-owned agency for four years, relocate in January 2016.
Farr has been at the helm for 11 years combined - at Smart agency and McCann. Smart was founded by Farr, Ben Lilley and John Mescall, but back in 2011 McCann bought the independent creative shop.
At the time, McCann Australia CEO and chairman Chris Mort was replaced by Smart CEO Lilley – who is now CEO of McCann Worldgroup. Mescall remains ECD at McCann.
In April McCann announced it was making a push for media, with Lilley telling AdNews that it was the focus for the agency this year.
Also, just last month McCann, which recently picked up Microsoft Australia, revealed how it was poised to launch a programmatic buying platform for Defence Housing Australia (DHA) as it continues to push its capacities in media beyond its traditional creative heritage.
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