Stagwell’s 72andSunny has named its first-ever North American president to oversee both its New York and Los Angeles offices: CPB’s Global CEO Marianne Malina.

Malina, who will start her new role on Sept. 6, wasn’t immediately available for comment. It was unclear who, if anyone, will take her position at CPB, which Malina assumed 16 months ago with the goal of turning around the agency. As announced earlier, CPB will become part of the Stagwell Media Network. 

When asked about plans for CBP, Stagwell Chairman and CEO Mark Penn said, "CPB is having a great summer as it integrates into the Stagwell Media Network, which reinforces CPB’s legacy as tightly connecting the creative idea with the media plan. We look forward to sharing more soon."

The hiring of Malina is part of a new leadership structure that 72andSunny has been building with the goal of appointing more senior leadership positions to serve clients.

“I was always impressed with how she [Malina] sees the business and what she's doing,” said Evin Shutt, global CEO of 72andSunny. “It was just a moment of like [Malina] set the table for CPB and kind of this new innovation and where they're headed and what does she want next? What's the growth opportunity for her?’ As I was sharing what we’re doing, she had interest and I had interest.”

Currently, 72andSunny’s New York office has around 150 employees. Its clients include Hubspot, Carl’s Jr. Legal Zoom, Comcast and Footlocker. The agency’s LA office has 250 employees and works on clients such as United Airlines, the NFL, Indeed and Marriott.

As part of 72andSunny’s work from home model in North America, Malina will remain in Austin but will travel to LA, New York, and client locations “frequently,” according to Shutt.

'Disruptive time'

“This is a disruptive time in the world and we know that our value as a company is using who we are and creativity to give clients guidance and partnership and help them thrive and not just survive,” Shutt said. “As we're doing that and as we're going through change, we took a moment to be like, ‘What do clients need? What does the market need?’ And we think they want more senior leaders and marketers. We hear it time and time again.”

The move is a step away from 72andSunny’s prior structure, which involved president roles that were less “client-facing” and more internally focused, according to Shutt.

As a result, the agency is replacing its former New York and LA presidents, Brett Edgar and Teri Miller, who joined VCCP and Mother respectively, with managing directors. Laura Likos, who previously served as head of brand management, will now serve as the managing director of the LA office. A managing director for New York has yet to be named.

“In our old structure, the office president role was very much pulled internally into operations, into the deployment of talent and involved with clients but not as client facing as we'd like,” Shutt said. “The North American president role will be more outward-bound; that's why we wanted a marketer like Marianne there. The managing director roles now get to really focus on the clients and the people doing the client work to make sure we have the right people in the right place and they're growing.”

And one of those needs is high-level access and strong leadership.

“Look at what some of our clients have been through in the last few years,” Shutt said. “The NFL during the social justice and racial reckoning of the U.S. required senior leadership [that was] highly engaged. United Airlines is another one with the pandemic and airlines. That was hard. So again, it required the breadth of leadership to get deep and partner with clients.”

Struggles at CPB

Malina joined CPB in April 2021, after spending 16 years at GSD&M, with the hopes of turning around the once iconic agency that had been declining for years.

“I’m a builder. I’m not a manager,” Malina said in April of last year about her appointment. “The bigger the problem, the more I’m interested. What CPB has done for the ad industry in this century is epic. Every single person in this industry is using a page from their playbook. An agency that changes the way we do business, that’s what’s at the core of this brand. You put that into today’s culture, what’s going on now, this is an opportunity of a lifetime.”

However, CPB has continued to struggle, losing a number of its leadership team and clients like Hotels.com, Fruit of the Loom, and VRBO. In October 2021 Buchanan’s Scotch Whiskey tapped CPB to  launch a Hispanic heritage Month campaign called “What Glory We Are.” 

Currently, the agency, which once rented spaces in Boulder and Denver, is “100% remote” according to its website, and there are no job listings on LinkedIn.

Other new executive moves at 72andSunny include the promotion of Janisse Wong to head of finance and operations of 72andSunny North America and Keith Jamerson, formerly head of U.S. production at Stink Studios, being named an executive production director at 72andSunny’s content and media studio Hecho Studios.

The agency has been bringing on new talent over the past couple of years, including Damaune Journey as global chief growth officer; Heat alumna Elaine Cox as the ECD of 72andSunny New York; Lauryn Nwankpa as managing director of the agency’s purpose and impact consultancy Brand Citizens; and Ogilvy alum Simon Usifo as president of 72andSunny Amsterdam.