NEW YORK Bill Cella, chairman and CEO of Interpublic’s Magna Global and vice chairman of DraftFCB, will leave both posts at the end of the year, IPG confirmed today.
Cella has led Magna since its 2001 formation. He added the DraftFCB role when that shop was aligned with IPG media firm Initiative a year ago.
From 1997 until his move to Magna, Cella was evp, director of broadcast and programming at Universal McCann North America, where he was responsible for buying more than $2 billion of national broadcast time on network, cable and syndicated television.
Cella joined McCann Erickson in 1994 as director of national broadcast and programming on the Coca-Cola account.
“Bill has made a tremendous impact over the years,” said IPG chairman and CEO Michael Roth, in a statement. “His commitment to helping meet the needs of our media clients was always matched by his contributions to the industry as a whole, demonstrated by his involvement on various boards and charitable causes. We greatly appreciate his years of service and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Cella said: “Throughout my career, I have always been motivated and attracted to working on world-class brands with world-class people and delivering significant results. At Magna, I believe my job is done and I am proud of my accomplishments. I am looking forward to the next chapter which will include the opportunities that a combination of traditional and digital media represent for the future.”
Before joining McCann, Cella worked at ABC for 15 years. He began his career there as an account executive for WXYZ-TV in Detroit.
Cella to Leave IPG Fold
