New York agency Joan Creative hired Magnus Blair as chief strategy officer.
Blair succeeds Anibal Casso, who left the agency earlier this year. He will work directly with co-founder, CCO Jaime Robinson and co-founder, CEO Lisa Clunie.
He joins Joan following four years as global head of brand and campaign planning for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where he was tasked with the creative and strategic development of the brand following its separation from HP. Before joining HPE, Blair spent over five years with Ogilvy as senior partner, group planning director, leading strategy on the agency’s largest account, IBM. Prior to that he spent two years as global planning director for Anomaly. He previously served in global planning director roles for Fallon and Leo Burnett New York, following nearly seven years as international planning director for AMV BBDO.
In a statement, Robinson called the hire “a huge win for Joan,” citing Blair’s “uncanny ability to crystallize even the most complex situations and point out the sure path forward.”
“After a few years as a client, I’m really excited to be returning to my natural side of the table. I’ve missed the broader variety of strategic challenges you encounter at an agency. Having worked with Lisa several times previously, I’m thrilled to be working with her and Jaime, their stellar creatives, and the whip-smart strategy team they’ve already assembled at Joan,” Blair added. “I do think the client-side experience will come in handy to give me a keener appreciation of the bigger business contexts back-dropping client-agency briefs, as that’s where the best and biggest creative ideas can stretch their legs to.”
Blair’s arrival follows Joan’s rebranding last month ahead of its upcoming third anniversary and a series of creative hires at the beginning of the year.