Anomaly is growing, and today the MDC Partners shop announced a couple of promotions to prove it.
New York partner and CEO Karina Wilsher is moving to London to become global chief operating officer, and Anomaly Toronto chief Franke Rodriguez will head down south to take her place. Wilsher will report directly to founding partner Carl Johnson, who stays put in Manhattan.
“These two are superb, proven executives – outstanding practitioners, inspirational leaders and fundamentally decent human beings – all of which matter a great deal to us,” said Johnson in a statement. The agency stuck with the European trade press on this news, because the angle is international growth.
Johnson continued, “It is essential that we remain ‘an anomaly’ as we expand globally, in order that we become even better as we become bigger, and that we continue to be ‘an idea whose time has come.’ Spreading the core Anomaly DNA through increasing the influence of two ‘homegrown’ talents is a perfect way of ensuring the turning of our principles and values into action.”
It’s not all about new business, though the shop did recently win New York Life and, more prominently, Beats [by Dre]. You may recall that it also opened its first office in L.A. after that last win and hired a bunch of new staffers.
Here’s the key line from The Drum writeup: “According to Anomaly, its multi-office clients – which include Converse, Diageo, Google, Hershey, Beats and YouTube – make up approximately 40% of the agency’s revenue.” So, more collaboration to come.
Johnson also told Campaign that Anomaly wants to strengthen its European operations: “We haven’t got a very good vision for Europe.”
Rodriguez has been running the show up in Canada for nearly 5 years after working at Digitas and working his way up through the Anomaly organization on the accounts side.
Wilsher joined Anomaly New York in 2010 after a decade with Fallon.