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| Dom Caruso |
Dom Caruso is no longer with BBDO Toronto and his role as president and CEO has been assumed by Gerry Frascione, chairman, CEO of BBDO Canada.
Frascione, who also holds the title of president, CEO of BBDO North America, assumed full oversight of the Toronto office. Caruso was let go on Tuesday.
“This was an opportunity to look at the business overall,” said Frascione. “In looking at the marketplace, I wanted to start delivering more consistently on [work] for clients across the board. I wanted to be personally involved with some of the changes that we’re going to be making at the agency.”
Frascione said those changes include more investment in the creative department and focus on the agency’s “InciteWork” system of account planning.
Frascione’s North American role gives him oversight of operations in Canada and Mexico. In January 2006, it necessitated his moving to New York, making Caruso the top man in Toronto. However, over the course of 2010, Frascione has been spending the majority of his time in Toronto. With Caruso and Frascione both calling Toronto home, there has been speculation in the industry that BBDO Toronto had become top–heavy with executives, with many wondering if a shake up would follow.
Frascione said Caruso’s departure was not related to role redundancy.
“I’ve recently been more involved than in the past with some specific clients here in Canada,” said Frascione, including Campbell’s and RBC. “As part of that commitment, I felt that it would be best for the company and for our clients to spend the majority of my time here helping the management team.”
Caruso, who joined the agency in 2005, was well–liked by both senior and frontline staff at the Omnicom–owned multinational, according to Jack Neary, former vice–chairman and chief creative officer at BBDO Canada, now chief creative officer at TBWACanada.
“He spent a lot of time on the creative floor and that was always appreciated by the teams,” Neary said.
Stephanie Nerlich, the president of Toronto agency Lowe Roche, agrees. “Dom was one of the best leaders for me personally,” said Nerlich, who spent 11 years at BBDO. She worked with Caruso in her role as senior vice–president, executive managing director of the agency. “He doesn’t believe in ruling from on high and is probably happiest when digging in with creative teams and planners to deliver thoughtful solutions for clients. BBDO may feel the loss of Dom in ways they wouldn’t expect or could predict.”
Caruso, who said he could not comment on his departure from the agency, said this is far from the end of his career.
“I’m extremely proud of my time at BBDO, where I helped the work and did my best to create a great culture to work in,” Caruso told Marketing. “It’s an incredibly exciting time in marketing right now, so there’s lots to consider in terms of what’s next.”
Frascione thanked Caruso for his contributions to the agency in a statement issued this morning.
“I personally want to thank Dom for his commitment and dedication through the years and for his many contributions to BBDO Toronto. We wish him all the best,” he said.
Andrew Robertson, president and CEO of BBDO Worldwide, said the changes at BBDO Toronto are important to Canada, which the agency considers a key market.
“We need to be, and be seen to be, its leading agency,” Robertson said in a statement. “With Gerry’s leadership, the agency will change gear, and deliver outstanding… campaigns for our clients, day in and day out.”
