Ian MacKellar is joining Bensimon Byrne as creative director, reporting to David Rosenberg who assumes the title of chief creative officer at the agency.
Rosenberg said he and the agency’s other three partners had been conducting a “quiet search” for a creative director who could assume day-to-day oversight of creative output so Rosenberg could take on bigger-picture duties.
“I first approached Ian about a year ago asking him if he’d be interested in talking with us,” said Rosenberg who worked with MacKellar at Roche in the mid-’90s.
“We had a very tight relationship at Roche, and I have always been a big fan of his. And I have tracked his career with interest ever since,” said Rosenberg. A year ago, however, MacKellar was firmly entrenched as executive creative director at BBDO Canada, overseeing creative for the agency since Jack Neary moved to New York in 2008.
During MacKellar’s tenure, BBDO was named top Canadian agency on the Gunn Report and put out break-through campaigns for Doritos, Pepsi, and Tropicana. But in April, BBDO promoted Peter Ignazi and Carlos Moreno to executive creative directors, and MacKellar left the agency.
“I have an enormous amount of respect for [MacKellar] as an ideas guy,” said Rosenberg. “He is the perfect person to come in here and continue to strengthen our creative.”
Rosenberg said they have been planning this move since Peter Byrne‘s retirement from the agency in 2008, leaving the CCO post vacant. Rosenberg has held the role of creative director for 10 years.
By hiring MacKellar, Rosenberg said he’ll have more time for his role as a partner at the agency. “I was quite frankly so busy before that I wasn’t able to give it the kind of attention it deserved.”
“I’ve been very fortunate during my career to work with some the best people in the country,” said MacKellar in a release. “I chose Bensimon Byrne for its track record of impressive work and industry-leading focus. They have great clients, an extremely talented team and have a strong desire to produce world-class creative–all the ingredients of a very successful future.”
