Call it a shakeup if you will at R/GA’s West Coast office as the agency has announced that Mark Shewmaker and Rob Smiley (left) will be taking over as executive creative directors in SF.
From what we’ve been told, current R/GA San Francisco ECD Mauro Cavalletti, who has been with the agency for nearly three years, will now be “supporting global R/GA creative initiatives.” Meanwhile, SF managing director Ryan Denning, a 10-year R/GA vet who was promoted to his post a year ago, is heading back to the East Coast to be closer to his family.
While R/GA is actively pursuing Denning’s replacement, the agency reassures us that both he and Cavalletti are “absolutely still with the agency.” As for Denning’s exact position upon his return to NYC, the agency tells us, “We are currently assessing the needs across our NY accounts to determine what makes the most sense for both the agency and Ryan, respectively. Ryan is a long time R/GAer who has been with the agency for more than a decade, and we want to ensure his transition is as seamless as possible.”
As for the new creative leads in San Francisco, Shewmaker is an eight-year R/GA vet who’s been involved in campaigns including the Verizon Droid digital billboards in Times Square as well as work for other clients including L’Oreal Paris, Merck, IBM, Walmart and Lowe’s.
Smiley recently worked as a freelance creative director at Apple. Prior to that, he spent a handful of years at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, where he served as GCD and global creative director on Absolut. In addition, Smiley helped launch Chiat SF and worked on brands including Levi’s and Game Show Network.