12370: The Latest Leadershifts.

Adweek reported on the White executives moving through the revolving doors and musical chairs of leadership at various White advertising agencies. The story underscores how agencies generate as much turnover and disruptive upheaval in the C-suites as clients do—which ultimately creates commoditization of the industry and a sea of generic shops. So adpeople shouldn’t whine when advertisers appoint new CEOs and CMOs, prompting reviews and reassignments. Oh, and the story really underscores how minorities are excluded from the Caucasian-suites C-suites.

It’s a Busy New Year Already for Agency Leadership Changes

First TBWA, then Arnold and now JWT and Y&R

By Andrew McMains

‘Tis the season to make top management changes.

A day after TBWA named a new head of its New York office and Arnold hired a new chief strategist, JWT has elevated Lynn Power to president of its flagship office and Young & Rubicam Chicago has replaced chief creative officer Bill Cimino with a pair of executive creative directors: Jeremy Smallwood and Pam Mufson, who previously were cds. Cimino had led the department for more than two years.

At JWT, Power previously shared leadership of New York with Claire Capeci as managing directors. That arrangement was short-lived, however, lasting just 10 months. Power and incoming chief creative officer Adam Kerj become the top leaders in New York.

With Power’s promotion, Capeci is shifting to a new role of global president of retail—a nod to her continued stewardship of JWT’s Macy’s account. Capeci has worked at the agency for almost nine years.

In contrast, Powers is a newcomer, having joined JWT last year, after five years running the New York office of Arnold. New global CEO Gustavo Martinez recruited Powers and revealed her new role this morning.

Arnold, meanwhile, has hired Sara Bamber as head of strategy in New York where the agency’s top accounts are Hershey’s, Kao, Milk-Bone and Sanofi. Bamber succeeds Beth Fetzer, who held the role for four years and will remain at the shop as a strategic planner. The change was triggered by Fetzer’s desire to focus solely on key accounts like Kao (which encompasses the brands John Frieda and Jergens) and gave new office president Peter Grossman the chance to pick a key business partner.

Grossman, who started in August, cited Bamber’s maturity, poise and experience with integrated campaigns. Most recently, she was chief strategy officer at Draftfcb in New York, working on brands like Oreo. Before that, she held top planning roles at Anomaly and SapientNitro where she helped shape digital campaigns for several Coca-Cola brands. Her background in both traditional and digital particularly appealed to Grossman.

Bamber is “a real grown-up, which was important to me,” Grossman said. “Both intellectually and emotionally, I find her very easy to engage with, even when we may have a different point of view.”

The new chief at TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York is a familiar face: Rob Schwartz, a 17-year veteran of the agency and former chief creative officer at its office in Playa del Rey, Calif. Most recently, Schwartz was global creative president, contributing to key global accounts. In New York, Schwartz takes the title of CEO and succeeds Robert Harwood-Matthews, who was president for more than two years.