Odiorne Departs OWN+P

LOS ANGELES Jeff Odiorne, chairman and executive creative director at Odiorne Wilde Narraway + Partners, said he has left the agency.

Odiorne, 38, co-founded the San Francisco shop nearly 10 years ago, along with Andy Narraway, Harry Groome and Michael Wilde. His departure comes approximately two months after Wilde left the independent agency to finish a film he has been working on [Adweek.com, Aug. 1].

Odiorne has recently co-directed commercials for Reebok with his brother Peter via Moxie Pictures in New York and Los Angeles. He also is working on a professional-athlete brand-architecture model with Deloitte Consulting, which he said addresses how athletes are “misused” in commercials. Odiorne said he plans to launch an entertainment-based venture in New York by Nov. 1 with his brother and a handful of other partners; the initiative will merge directing and creative and address athlete image engineering.

“For someone who is pretty much doing all the jobs management has to do, it limited the reason I got into the business, which is for creative outlets,” noted Odiorne.

Odiorne said he has sold his shares back to the agency. Narraway and shop director of account planning Keith McVaney are the only remaining majority shareholders. Narraway said he expects to name a new creative director within the next few weeks.

“It’s sad, but people move on,” said Narraway. “They have different things they want to do in life, and Jeff made that decision.”

OWN+P has 50 employees in its San Francisco office and claimed 2002 U.S. billings of approximately $100 million. Its clients include Electronic Arts, 1800 Tequila, Grand Marnier and Embarcadero Center.