McKinney Los Angeles Hires TBWA Vet as Director of Strategy

By Erik Oster 

McKinney hired Anita Schillhorn as director of strategy for its Los Angeles office.

She formerly spent two years as planning director for TBWA\Chiat\Day, where she worked across brands including Imax, QuickBooks, Principal Financial Group and the Japanese apparel brand ZOZO. Earlier in her career, she spent three years in various roles at Digitas, where she worked with clients including American Express, Delta, Diageo, Samsung and Uniqlo. She followed that with a stint as a planning director at Havas, working on Hershey, Keurig and Schwab, followed by a little over a year at Grey as global senior digital strategist on Pantene.

Schillhorn has also led her own consultancy, working with brands owned and run by women, advises early-stage startups through the UCLA Venture Accelerator, teaches digital marketing at General Assembly and writes a newsletter about marketing and culture.

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In this role, she will report to chief strategy officer Walt Barron while working closely with McKinney Los Angeles managing director Sylvain Tron, who worked with Schillhorn at Havas.

“Having worked with Anita in the past, I am excited about the energy, curiosity and business understanding she brings to the L.A. office,” Tron said in a statement. “Her ability to get involved with any part of the process—whether it’s business consulting, creative strategy or comms planning—broadens our strategic offering on the West Coast and I’m thrilled to have her on board. She also gets extra points for her encyclopedic knowledge of taco spots in Los Angeles.”

“From the get-go, I was impressed with the creativity and integrity of everyone here at McKinney, especially in addressing the unique challenges this year has brought,” Schillhorn added. “I’m honored to join the team in Los Angeles and be part of building on its unique creative and entrepreneurial culture, as well as contribute to McKinney’s broader strategic vision.”

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