John McGarry III -- the son of McGarryBowen founder and veteran adman John McGarry -- is departing the Dentsu-owned agency where he founded the digital practice.
He's being succeeded by Doug Livingston, who most recently served as EVP-director of digital integration at WPP's Grey.
It's not immediately clear what future plans for Mr. McGarry, better known as J3, would hold; he couldn't immediately comment on the matter.
J3 joined McGarryBowen to lead digital in 2007, five years after the shop opened its doors. Mr. McGarry's departure comes a month after the announcement that co-founder Stewart Owen is retiring from the agency, and comes one year after his father left day-to-day agency operations.
"John has worked with us since the beginning and officially joined our agency six years ago," McGarryBowen Chairman and Chief Creative Officer Gordon Bowen said in statement. "He grew the practice from two to over 300 amazing global practitioners across digital, social, mobile, branded entertainment and labs who are pushing the boundaries to help our clients succeed in exciting and innovative ways. The entire McGarryBowen family thanks him for his contributions, his leadership and friendship."
Mr. Livingston job will be a bit different in that he'll have a lot more worldwide responsibility. The New York-based agency is becoming increasingly global as Japanese giant Dentsu looks to expand the McGarryBowen network. The agency has offices in Chicago, London and Shanghai and is continuing to expand. Mr. Livingston will serve as a member of the agency's management committee and will report to Mr. Bowen.
"Delivering innovative and integrated digital solutions is incredibly important to our clients and to our continued growth together," said Mr. Bowen in the statement. "Doug's digital experience, global expertise and proven ability to expand and win business all make him a perfect fit to lead our growing global digital offering."
Mr. Livingston starts in the role later this month. He'll work on a roster of clients that includes Kraft, Disney, United, Crayola, Marriott, Pfizer, Verizon and Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
