Following Monday’s news that Suzy Deering would be leaving the Publicis fold to join eBay as its new CMO, Moxie announced that her successor will be Sean Reardon, a holding company vet and former planning guy.
Reardon has spent the past eight-plus years in strategy with Publicis media network Zenith and “solution” ROAR, he began his career in accounts and media planning at AKQA, GS&P, Hal Riney and others.
He will simultaneously serve as president/CEO of Moxie and ROAR, and he’s worked with the agency since it was acquired by Publicis. In the release, he says:
“I’ve watched [Moxie] grow from its modest beginnings to become the 500+-staff, multimarket, digitally advanced organization it is today. Suzy has done an amazing job setting an upward trajectory, and I look forward to keeping the momentum going.”
Deering also gets a goodbye quote in:
“Moxie holds a special place in my heart, and I’ve grown professionally while having the opportunity to work alongside some of the brightest talent. I’m excited to pass the reins to someone whom I respect and know will take Moxie and its clients to the next level.”
Since Reardon will not relocate to Atlanta, it’s not clear at the moment who will lead Moxie’s largest office or whether he will be able to maintain the dual roles.
For the Moxie perspective, here’s one of our famously anonymous commenters:
“Look forward with enthusiasm and promise with your new lead, Sean Reardon, whom embodies all the qualities and experience you’ve said you need, and celebrate being an agency worth talking about.
Those who have actually done their homework know that Sean comes from a strategic background…Clients like and respect him, and frankly, he is just a great guy that people enjoy working for and with. As for balancing Roar, plenty of CEOs have purview over multiple shops – no one questions Tim Jones, after all.”
So that settles it, then.