Y&R California Names Northrop CCO

By Patrick Coffee 

Ronny NorthrupConfirming rumors that began circulating Monday night, Y&R has approved the press release announcing the promotion of Ronny Northrop to chief creative officer of its California office.

Northrop’s ascent within the Y&R organization was particularly swift: while he joined the agency in February 2014 as freelancer, his promotion to the ECD position only went public in late October.

Earlier in his career, Northrop spent more than three years writing copy for CP+B and nearly six years as a copywriter and creative director within the GS&P organization. After leaving GS&P in 2011, he spent several years as a full-time freelancer writing copy for 72andSunny, Butler, Shine, and others.

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In announcing Northrop’s promotion, the agency also confirmed the departure of now-former California CCO Mimi Cook (to whom Northrop reported). The official word holds that she is “leaving to pursue other interests” with no additional information forthcoming, but the fact that Cook spoke to Digiday about industry trends as recently as last October implies that the decision to promote Northrop was part of Y&R’s New Year’s reshuffling.

A quick refresher on that point: this week has seen the departure of New York CCO Jim Elliott (who went to Arnold Worldwide) and the promotion of Leslie Sims to his old position. Last week also brought major changes in the agency’s Chicago team, with CCO Bill Cimino departing and two co-ECDs replacing him.

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