Gosper to Rejoin McCann as President

NEW YORK Brett Gosper, president of Omnicom’s TBWA New York Group since September 2004, is leaving to rejoin Interpublic Group’s McCann Erickson as its U.S. president, McCann has confirmed.

Before TBWA, Gosper was general manager of the New York office of McCann—his first crack at the U.S. market. He left after just nine months, however, lured away by TBWA CEO Jean-Marie Dru, a former colleague at BDDP in Paris.

In addition, Eric Keshin, regional director of McCann’s North American operations, has been promoted to COO of McCann Worldgroup.

Both Gosper and Keshin report to Worldgroup CEO John Dooner.

“Brett did a terrific job for us in his earlier post and we are delighted that he is returning in an expanded role in which he will focus on McCann New York, and also work with key multinational accounts in the U.S.,” Dooner said in a statement.

TBWA, although demonstrably smaller than McCann, offered Gosper a direct connection to the top (he reports to Dru, whereas at McCann he reported to Eric Keshin, regional director for North America), and a seat on the network’s worldwide operating group.

On his watch, the New York office of TBWA\Chiat\Day won the lion’s share of the assignments stemming from Sprint’s merger with key client Nextel. The office created the campaign launching the combined brand this month and handles all consumer-directed ads.

McCann’s offer of a larger role and a direct reporting line to Dooner is believed to have factored into Gosper’s decision to return.

A representative at TBWA confirmed Gosper’s departure but declined further comment. It was not immediately clear who would replace Gosper at TBWA.

This story updates an item posted earlier today with McCann’s confirmation and the news that Keshin has been promoted.