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In its 16-year history, New York agency Johannes Leonardo never had a chief marketing officer. The creative shop let its work speak for itself while founders Leo Premutico and Jan Jacobs served as its faces and promoters.
The agency has gone through a few changes in the past couple of years, including losing chief creative officer Julia Neumann and elevating longtime employee Emily Wilcox to chief executive officer. Now, one of Johannes Leonardo’s first employees has returned to be its first CMO.
John McCarthy was one of the agency’s 10 initial employees, serving as general manager before leaving in 2016 to be svp of strategy for Y Media Labs and then president of DDB’s West Coast office in San Francisco.
In his new role, he will be tasked with shaping the agency brand and driving growth through new business development. As the first CMO, he brings a strategic perspective to the agency and fits with Wilcox’s growth plans.
Wilcox only worked with McCarthy for a few months before he left, but he made an indelible mark. She saw him in new business pitches and the energy, optimism and strategic thinking he brought, as well as an ability to dig in with the client and talk about their challenges while shaping the work.
“He’s an amazing new business leader, he’s a great partner for our clients, he brings a ton of great energy into the process,” Wilcox told Adweek, adding that new business can be a culture generator since everybody touches it. “So the person who leads that function can really have a big influence on the type of culture that you’re building. I know he’s going to be a great growth driver for us.”
McCarthy told Adweek that Johannes Leonardo holds a special place in his heart because he spent the formative years of his career there and learned what it took to start a business from scratch.
“When I started, we were about seven people. When I left, we were about 60. I’ve just been so excited and inspired by what the team has built since I left, so when this opportunity arose to come back and be able to be a part of kind of the next chapter, I couldn’t resist,” McCarthy told Adweek, adding that he relishes the opportunity to work with Wilcox again.
An agency in transition
Johannes Leonardo has seen its share of executive departures over the past year, including Neumann; president Bryan Yasko, who left for Accenture Song; head of business development Ben Myers; and head of agency brand engagement Elizabeth Hess.
