Twenty-year IPG vet Peter McGuinness is splitting for rival holding company Omnicom and joining DDB Chicago as president/CEO. McGuinness, who has spent the last three years in the same post at NYC-based Gotham, replaces Rick Carpenter, who parted ways with DDB last December to “begin the next phase” of his career. It’s a homecoming of sorts for the new DDB Chicago president/CEO, who says in a statement, “Chicago is where I was born so it’s a bit of a homecoming, and it’s at the heart of DDB. I can’t wait to bring some heat to the windy city.”
During his two decades at IPG, McGuinness was named EVP/worldwide account director at McCann Worldgroup before he turned 30, eventually playing a pivotal role in bringing MasterCard’s “Priceless” campaign to the masses. By the time he hit 35, the exec was named regional director, EMEA for IPG’s Momentum and was eventually inducted into the AAF Advertising Hall of Achievement two years ago.
In his new role, McGuinness will work alongside DDB Chicago’s CCO Ewan Paterson, who has been on somewhat of a hiring streak as of late.