We received word straight from Kristi VandenBosch herself that the exec is leaving Publicis & Hal Riney/Publicis Modem. VandenBosch as you may know served as CEO of the agency and spent nearly a year working in the leadership realm alongside Kevin Roddy, the former BBH creative boss who joined Riney last year as CCO. VandenBosch originally joined Riney in 2009 from Tequila and led the agency alongside Roger Camp.
Here’s her full note below:
“I’m planning on leaving Riney in mid-February. I actually decided to leave back in September, but agreed to stay through the end of the year. We were very fortunate that [chairman] Harold Sogard was willing to come out of what was surely a glorious sabbatical to join Riney at that point, which gave us a significant transition period in which to migrate my responsibilities to him. He’s a fantastic leader for Riney, and I’m delighted I got to spend four months working closely with him.
Now that everything’s pretty much off my plate, I can move on my plan to return to Los Angeles. While I’ve had some initial conversations with agencies in the market there, one of the main reasons I’m excited about returning is to help one of my closest friends launch her magazine, Dame. Dame has been her mission and passion for the past five years, and it’s going to be a fantastic adventure that I’m thrilled to be a part of.
I’m sure I’ll find my way back into the agency world at some point; I love this business and the people in it, and I’ll always jump at the opportunity to helm a great shop. It’s been such a privilege to work at Riney – the people are truly amazing, and the culture is one of the most special I’ve ever been a part of. I wish them enormous success in the future, and will always be proud to be a Riney alum.”