Goodby Silverstein & Partners has promoted managing partner Leslie Barrett to president, making her the agency's third president in its 30-year history. Barrett, who has been with the agency for 23 years, takes over for Derek Robson, who departed in December 2022 to become the CEO of design company IDEO.

Barrett’s previous role will not be filled, leaving Brian McPherson as the agency’s sole managing partner moving forward.

One of Barrett's main objectives is to become “really aggressive” when it comes to new business, she said. That marks a departure from the past few years when the agency prioritized employee and client retention. 

“There are a lot of clients who've been doing the same things over and over again for so long and it hasn't been working for them and they need a change,” Barrett said. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Goodby has retained 86% of its staff and 97% of its clients, with the remaining 3% of clients later returning to the agency in some compacity, according to Barrett.

HP and Truly are among several recent clients that have recently returned to the agency, according to a statement from Goodby. Truly, which moved its creative account to Ogilvy in January, recently assigned a project to Goodby, according to a spokeswoman for the agency.

The agency also plans to invest more into its Brand Camp offering, a six-week accelerated strategy workshop for brands that last year helped the agency pick up business with Blackstone, Frito-Lay, and Kraft Heinz.

Goodby's Chief Creative Officer Margaret Johnson praised Barrett’s “human approach” to client and employee relationships.

Barrett has helped manage the account team during her time with the agency. She played a role in bringing in several clients without a pitch, including Comcast Business, Idorsia, Califia Farms, One Medical, Oura, Lidl and BIC razors. 

Barrett “is an aggressive business builder, a master negotiator, a champion of innovation and a leader dedicated to employee well-being who thrives on making work that drives true business impact,” said Jeff Goodby, co-founder and co-chairman of the agency, in a statement.

Beyond maintaining and building client relationships, Barrett will help lead the agency’s San Francisco and New York offices.

The success of the agency’s New York office, which reopened in 2020, is a “critical part” of the agency’s future, she said, adding that it's important the office maintains its own identity separate from the flagship West Coast office. 

Among the list of priorities for the New York office is naming executive creative directors after Danny Gonzalez and David Surez were let go as part of an office restructuring. 

The agency will look for new creative leadership, though a decision hasn't been made on what that would like, Barrett said.