BBDO Hires Robin Fitzgerald As Its First-Ever Female CCO in the U.S.

By Patrick Coffee 

A couple of days ago we posted on VP/ECD Robin Fitzgerald’s pending departure from CP+B L.A., and now we know where she’s going: she will replace Wil Boudreau as chief creative officer at BBDO Atlanta.

The move is significant in that Fitzgerald will become the first woman to hold the CCO position at BBDO in the U.S. The network currently has several women in creative lead or co-lead positions at its offices around the world, but so far its U.S. chief creatives have been all bros. Omnicom is aware of this fact. You may recall that, during an April earnings call, CEO John Wren promised to double the number of women in creative leadership positions within the BBDO North America network over the following 12 months, and Fitzgerald’s hire brings him fairly close to fulfilling that vow.

Earlier this week, her predecessor announced that he would be leaving BBDO after 25 years, and we posted yesterday about his new job as North American CCO at WPP’s The&Partnership.

Advertisement

The press release tells us that Fitzgerald, who will start her now job on September 12, plans to reshape the Atlanta office alongside president and CEO Drew Panayiotou.

From David Lubars: “Not only is Robin fantastically talented, but she also understands the always-on world in which today’s clients operate, embraces technology and analytics and, generally, is someone who can lead the way forward. Plus she’s a good soul.  I am excited and flattered that Robin has agreed to join BBDO Atlanta and work with Drew to help make that agency something truly special.”

Fitzgerald spent the last decade-plus with CP+B and TBWA in Los Angeles, working on  such accounts as Gatorade, Visa, Applebee’s, A1, vitaminwater and PayPal. She played a key role in the latter’s recent Super Bowl ad, and she got promoted to VP/ECD at Crispin at the same time Kevin Jones got the CCO spot.

Panayiotou calls the hire “a no-brainer,” and Fitzgerald says, “I love places that love making great work and am looking forward to making a lot of it with the team in Atlanta.”

The CEO adds, “Robin’s prior experience, proven track record and innovative orientation make her a dream fit for what we do and what we hope to do even better for our clients. Besides, the East Coast will open up a whole new perspective after so many years on the West Coast.” We totally get it. Unfortunately, driving in Atlanta is no better than driving in L.A.

Advertisement