12584: Whites Succeed At GS+P.

Adweek reported Goodby Silverstein & Partners elevated White people—including a White woman—as part of the agency’s succession plan. In 2012, Margaret Johnson became the first White woman to be named a partner at the White advertising agency. No word on any minority promotions from diversity crusader Jeff Goodby.

Goodby Silverstein Names Its Next Generation of Top Creative Leadership

First step in founders’ succession plans

By Noreen O’Leary

Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein may not be retiring just yet, but they have made their first major move toward securing a succession for the agency’s creative leadership.

Today, the Goodby Silverstein & Partners founders made Eric Kallman an executive creative director, joining ecd Margaret Johnson in running the San Francisco office’s creative department.

“This is a true reflection of how we are really working right now,” said co-chairman Goodby, 63. “Rich and I will continue in our roles as advisors and guiding hands. But Margaret and Eric are now the ones with ultimate responsibility for the work on each of our accounts. They have brought a renewed life and energy to everything we do.”

Johnson is an 18-year veteran of the agency known for award-winning work for Häagen-Dazs, HP, Nike and Logitech. She became one of the shops’s five partners in 2012.

Kallman joined GSP a year ago as creative director and associate partner, after working as an ecd and partner at Barton F. Graf 9000 in New York. Prior to that stint, Kallman worked at Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, and TBWA\Chiat\Day, New York, where he started his ad career. Over his career, Kallman has made himself a big industry name with campaigns for Old Spice (for which he created “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”), Skittles, Career Builder, Coca-Cola, Kayak, Little Caesars and Ragú.

Paul Caiozzo, who joined GS&P’s New York office as ecd in May and helped to win one of the office’s first clients, The New York Post, will continue to run the NYC creative department. (He was also the creative lead on GSP N.Y.’s Comcast spot “Emily’s Oz” which ran during the Oscars last month.)

“Margaret, Eric and Paul are the next generation of creative leaders for the agency,” said co-chairman Silverstein, 65. “I’m not going anywhere. I love coming up with ideas and playing off the young people around here but we needed to find the right people to grow the company and keep it young in spirit. We had Margaret and we just needed to find the right yin to her yang, which we did in Eric. They couldn’t be more different but they’re the right balance.”

Johnson gets credit as a strong organizational thinker and visually-driven designer in her approach to advertising. Kallman’s award-winning humor and ability to attract young talent helped earn him the promotion.

Silverstein will continue to work on accounts like Cisco and Adobe while Goodby remains involved with Comcast and California Milk Processors Board. Another agency priority for Goodby is to more actively mentor staffers. “It’s been too much sink or swim around here, too much like the Marines.”