McCann ECD Michael Raso leaves for CD role at Ogilvy
McCann Sydney’s ECD Michael Raso has left the agency to join Ogilvy as group creative director and head of art.
Raso joined McCann from the New York office in January, and restructured the creative department three months later.
However, after the merger of McCann and Smart in September, Smart’s John Mescall took control of the combined agency’s creative offering.
Raso will report to Ogilvy Sydney’s ECD Brett Howlett, who joined the agency in August as a replacement for Chris Ford.
Mescall said in a statement: “We wish Michael all the best in his new role. He is a passionate and talented creative, and an asset to any creative department. But we’ve been lucky enough to secure a fantastic global candidate as his replacement, who not only has a brilliant creative pedigree as far as the work is concerned, but also proven experience at the rather tricky business of managing creative departments. We’d love to tell you who it is, but we’ll be making that announcement as soon as a starting date is confirmed.”
Raso’s career includes a stint in Sydney under David Droga at Omon, Batey/Redcell in Singapore, as well as Deutsch and Ammirati Puris Lintas New York.
Howlett said: “Michael is a great creative thinker, very well respected and regarded within the industry, and his skills and design expertise will greatly enhance the offering at Ogilvy for all our clients.”
“Raso stepping into this role marks a stronger agency focus on design and art direction. He’ll be a great support to an already smart team of GCDs.”
Raso commented: “I’m looking forward to joining Ogilvy. I am excited to work with strategic talent like Mark Sareff and to re-unite with ECD Brett Howlett. There’s no question that the Ogilvy network has strength and depth. Locally they have a nice mix of some huge and nimble brands. I’m sure there are opportunities for us to create some powerful work.”
