Y&R Taps Saatchi Exec for Creative Ops Post

NEW YORK Paul Schulman, the longtime managing director of creative at Saatchi & Saatchi here, is leaving to reunite with Tony Granger at Young & Rubicam.

Granger, the global chief creative officer at WPP Group’s Y&R, has hired Schulman for the new position of global director of creative operations. He starts March 2.

The duo worked together during Granger’s three years as chief creative officer of Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi in New York. Granger resigned from Saatchi in November 2007 and joined Y&R in May 2008.

“Paul and I were attached at the hip” at Saatchi, said Granger. “He’s a facilitator. He has got a wonderful way with creative people. Creative people love him because a spade is a spade with Paul. You know where you stand.”

Schulman had worked at Saatchi since 1998. Then New York CCO Tod Seisser recruited him as his previous agency, Wells Rich Greene BDDP, was closing.

So, at Saatchi, Schulman worked for three creative chiefs: Seisser, Granger and Gerry Graf, who started as CCO in February 2008.

At Y&R — as he did at Saatchi — Schulman will focus on marshaling agency talent and resources to meet client needs. Initially, he’ll focus on the New York creative department, where he’ll reexamine processes and resources with an eye toward making them “smarter, faster, more economical,” said Granger.

At the same time, Schulman will help Granger tackle global creative assignments and recruit new talent.

Schulman enjoyed his 11 years at Saatchi — “Everybody has been great” — but felt it was time to try something new on a global scale. He also was drawn by the chance to work again with Granger, whom he described as “amazing at working with people and getting people to rally around a cause. He’s like an Energizer Bunny.”