Brandon Rochon, who served as SVP/global creative director on the Samsung account at Leo Burnett, has left the agency effective immediately. Both Rochon himself and a Leo Burnett spokesperson confirmed that he is moving to L.A. to become managing chief creative officer at Kastner & Partners.
Now for some the backstory: in 2012, Leo Burnett launched a Los Angeles office to service Samsung and hired Deutsch L.A./CP+B alum Shannon McGlothin to run it.
McGlothin’s first West Coast hires were Rochon and his creative partner Adam Kennedy, who previously worked on the Coke Zero account at Ogilvy Paris and met while directing art at TBWA’s Parisian office. The pair, who call each other “chocolate and cream,” shared SVP/global creative director duties on Samsung, and their work on the account includes such campaigns as this co-promotion with Swarovski and this one starring Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi as an urban developer of sorts.
McGlothin left Leo Burnett after approximately one year and landed at L.A.’s Omelet last August. Leo Burnett’s L.A. operation, which opened at the same time as its ill-fated New York office, subsequently closed its doors as the Samsung account moved back to Chicago.
Rochon’s new employer Kastner & Partners has been in the market for a chief creative for several months. Just over a year ago, the shop hired Jamie Reilly–formerly with 72andSunny, TBWA\MAL, Deutsch L.A., Saatchi & Saatchi and others–in an attempt to expand on its identity as “The Red Bull agency.” In February, Reilly spoke to us about the shop’s work for Adidas Golf, which went to Venables Bell & Partners last month after a creative review.
Reilly then left Kastner in March along with Partner/Managing Director Richard Turner; the former is currently freelancing while seeking a more permanent CD gig in the L.A. area.
Brandon Rochon and Leo Burnett declined to comment on the reasons for the GCD’s departure, though a source close to the matter claims it was a voluntary move that followed a disagreement with the client regarding the creative direction of a campaign.
Our sources also tell us that Adam Kennedy will remain with Leo Burnett Chicago but will no longer work on the Samsung account.
Updates when they come in.