Margaret Keene has been named the top creative at Mullen's Los Angeles office.

The shop's new exec creative director comes to Mullen, which holds the Acura account, from Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles, which handles Toyota. The slot at Mullen had been vacant since late last year when Peter Rosch left the agency.

Ms. Keene will report to Mullen's North America Chief Creative Officer Mark Wenneker. "We got a thought leader, a collaborator, a 360-thinker, a team builder and a lover of cars, all in one," said Mr. Wenneker."The effect she will have on the Mullen network is sure to be strong."

"If you can get clients that really understand the landscape, especially socially and digitally, you can do some amazing work," said Ms. Keene. "Mullen understands that and partners with these kinds of companies, and that's irresistible to someone like me."

Mullen's Los Angeles office opened in June 2013 after the Interpublic Group of Cos.' agency won the Acura business in March of that year. Earlier this year it named Cameron McNaughton managing director; the shop now has more than 100 employees.

Ms. Keene had been overseeing all creative for Saatchi LA, along with Exec Creative Director Chris Adams, but Mr. Adams left in November. In June, the office hired Jason Schragger as chief creative officer from TBWA/Chiat/Day.

Saatchi's main client, Toyota, announced earlier this year that would be relocating its U.S. sales and marketing force from Southern California to Plano, Texas. The move will take two years to complete, and most of Toyota's 5,000 Torrance, Calif.-based headquarters management and employees will be affected. There is no word yet on whether Saatchi's Los Angeles office would relocate.

Ms. Keene joined Saatchi in 2011. There her work included Toyota's Northstar "Let's Go Places" brand, various Super Bowl campaigns, and Camry's "Thrill Ride." Prior to Saatchi, she was a longtime creative at TBWA/Chiat/Day in Los Angeles, where she worked on brands such as Apple, Infiniti and Nissan. She started there in 1992 as a receptionist, making her way up the creative ladder, eventually landing an executive creative director role.