McCann has added a pair of strategic leaders to its Detroit and New York offices with the arrivals of executive vice president, chief strategy officer Kris Shaffer in Detroit and executive vice president, head of brand strategy Veda Partalo in New York.
“One of the biggest compliments you get in this business is when amazingly talented people want to come work with you,” McCann North America chief strategy officer Steve Zaroff said in a statement. “We’re delighted that Kris and Veda have joined McCann, bringing fresh perspective and energy to our strategic leadership teams in Detroit and New York.”
“Kris and Veda signal our determination to continue to lure the best talent to help our clients find meaningful roles for their brands in today’s world and drive results for their businesses,” added McCann North America president Chris Macdonald.
Shaffer arrives at McCann from Hudson Rouge, where she led the agency’s business and communication strategy across markets in North America, China and the Middle East as executive vice president, global chief strategy officer. Prior to that she served as executive vice president, chief strategy officer with Blue Hive Shanghai. Before joining Blue Hive Shanghai she held senior strategy roles at Team Detroit and Y&R.
Partalo joins McCann from Untitled Worldwide, where she has served as head of brand strategy since September of 2013, working with brands including Oscar Health, Game of War, Spotify, NBC, Esquire and Dimensional Fund Advisors. Prior to that she spent a year and half as strategy director with Droga5, where she worked with brands such as Puma, Hennessy, Diet Coke, Belvita and the WNBA.
That followed stints in account planning positions with BBH New York, Fallon and Ogilvy & Mather.