H4B Catapult chief creative officer Gerry McLaughlin is leaving the agency after nearly two and a half years to pursue “new opportunities outside of the network,” according to an internal memo.
McLaughlin joined the agency–which is part of the Havas-owned Health4Brands network, hence the “H4B”–as chief creative officer in January of 2014, following almost 15 years as managing partner, creative director with Cline Davis & Mann Princeton, and almost 24 years with CDM overall.
H4B Catapult promoted Tracy Zuto to the role of executive vice president, executive creative director, tasking her with leading the agency’s creative department following McLaughlin’s exit. Zuto served as senior vice president, creative director for the agency over the past six months, following nearly eight years as vice president, associate creative director/group copy supervisor with Cline Davis & Mann.
The agency also appointed Chris Rogers as senior vice president, creative director/head of art. In the role, he will work closely with fellow senior vice president, creative director Kristen Pilkiewicz and report to Zuto. He joins the agency after a decade or so serving in various roles with Publicis/Medicus agencies including Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi. He has worked with brands including Burger King, Nabisco, Wild Turkey, and Molson.
H4B Catapult also promoted Jon Rea to art group supervisor, Amanda Margitich to senior copywriter and Alaina Klaus to art director.
Here’s the full memo, which does not include a signature.
First, we’d like to share that Gerry McLaughlin is pursuing new opportunities outside of the network. We thank him for the role he played at Catapult in moving the creative product forward during an important time of transition. We wish him all the best.
Effective today, we are thrilled to announce the promotion of Tracy Zuto to the role of EVP, Executive Creative Director. In this role, Tracy will be the single head of the creative department. There could not be a better candidate for this job. Those of you who have been able to work with her over the past few months would agree I am sure that she has impeccable creative chops, is skilled with client relations, and is a caring and committed leader and mentor. The role of head of an agency’s creative department is one of the most difficult in this industry, and success requires a rare combination of multiple skillsets from both the creative and organizational sides of the brain. Tracy is one of those rare few. The fact that she loves dogs and owns a pig is just icing on the cake! Reporting to Tracy in important leadership roles in the department and agency are Kristen Pilkiewicz, Rob Brosen, and our new head of Art (see below). Tracy reports to me.
We are also excited today to report we have a new head of Art! Chris Rogers will join us on 5/23 as SVP, Creative Director, to set the vision, tone, and leadership of the Art side of the house, and to work in partnership with Kristen and Tracy to guide Catapult’s creative department to new heights. Chris comes to us after a decade with the Publicis/Medicus organization, with previous roles at Ogilvy and Saatchi. He’s deeply ingrained in our world of healthcare and health & wellness, but also has a solid consumer background working on Burger King, Nabisco, Wild Turkey, and Molson. Chris is a graduate of SVA, and is Jersey Strong (Old Bridge…doesn’t get more Jersey than that). We’re excited to have him join our family.
And as discussed in our Town Hall today, we have 3 creative promotions. Please join us in celebrating new roles for Jon Rea (Art Group Sup), Amanda Margitich (Senior Copywriter), and Alaina Klaus (Art Director).