180 L.A. Head Michael Allen Named Agency’s Global CEO

Michael Allen, the managing partner and president of 180 Los Angeles, is the agency’s new global chief executive officer. He succeeds the agency’s remaining co-founder, Chris Mendola, who will continue as chairman at 180, the shop originally started in Amsterdam in 1998.

Allen joined 180 L.A. in January 2007 from Omnicom sibling TBWA\Chiat\Day. Since then the agency has grown from four employees and one client to 85 staffers and marketers that include Adidas, Sony Electronics, Boost Mobile, Mitsubishi Motors and Constellation Wines. He will remain L.A.-based and will continue to oversee the day-to-day management of the West Coast office. 

180, with a presence in Amsterdam and L.A., has a global management team comprised of Mendola and Allen along with the agency’s four other managing partners: 180 Amsetrdam president Kevin Dundas; L.A. ecd William Gelner; Amsterdam ecd Al Moseley and L.A. head of production Peter Cline.

Mendola, now based in Connecticut, set up 180 with Alex Melvin and Guy Hayward, both of whom he worked with at Wieden + Kennedy, Amsterdam. In 2009 Hayward left 180 to become CEO at JWT in the U.K. and last year joined BETC as global business development director. The third founder, Melvin died last August after battling melanoma for several years.