McCann Worldgroup UK announced today that Karen Buchanan will join in January 2019 as CEO, McCann Manchester. She will take over from long-standing CEO, Sue Little who will move to Chair of the Agency.
Reporting directly to UK Group CEO, Mark Lund, Buchanan will be responsible for the leadership of the agency, working closely with Little to ensure that the growth and strength of the agency continues.
During Little’s 20 year tenure as CEO the Manchester agency has grown significantly both in size and the strength of its offer and recently has been particularly well-known for iconic campaigns for Aldi, in collaboration with McCann London. Manchester has also been central to McCann UK being named IPA Effectiveness Network of the Year and building recognition from a number of key industry bodies including Prolific North Top 50Integrated Agencies: #1 Integrated Agency 2018 and the Econsultancy Top 100 Digital Agencies 2018 – where it is regularly named a Top 30 Digital Agency.
Buchanan was most recently the Chair/CEO of Publicis London, and prior to that, Managing Director of Red Brick Road and has held leadership roles at DDB. She brings a wealth of leadership experience to the role, working across multiple brands to deliver innovative creativity and seamless, connected experiences, all critical qualities that will be key to the next phase of growth for McCann Manchester, and the wider UK network.
Mark Lund McCann Worldgroup UK CEO said, “We’re delighted to have someone as talented as Karen join us to build on the momentum that has been achieved in the Manchester business and drive the next phase of growth there. She will be leading a terrific and talented team and partnering with Sue in her new role. Our business across the UK has never been stronger and Manchester’s success is a significant part of that.”
Karen Buchanan said, “I’m thrilled to be joining McCann Manchester which has such an impressive integrated approach and a rich depth of capabilities – not only as a centre of retail excellence but also as a powerhouse for driving digital innovation and creativity with real commercial results. I look forward to working with the fantastic team both in Manchester and across the UK group, and taking both our clients’ businesses and our own to the next level.”
Sue Little said “McCann Manchester is a very special agency, made so by the amazingly talented group of people who work there and I am immensely proud and very lucky to have been a part of that team for the past 35 years and led and developed so many of them for the past twenty years. We have created a business that is creatively and commercially massively successful and we’ve achieved this by being willing to challenge the norms, by taking considered risks and driving innovation and giving people a real chance to develop and grow their careers. I see Karen’s appointment and my new role as the next of those exciting opportunities and I am looking forward to working together to help create the next chapter in an amazingly successful business story.”