Universal McCann Adds Exec on Microsoft

SAN FRANCISCO Universal McCann here has hired a second senior executive on its showpiece Microsoft business in as many weeks.

Steve Soldano joins the Interpublic Group agency as a global managing partner on Microsoft, tasked with overseeing global media buying and planning on the software giant’s account.

McCann Worldgroup president Matt Ross hired Soldano, 45, from WPP Group’s MindShare in New York, where Soldano had been worldwide strategic planning director since January 2004. Some of the brands he worked on include American Express, Cisco Systems, Eastman Kodak and BMW.