Susan Credle Named Global Chief Creative of FCB

Leo Burnett's U.S. Chief Creative Officer Susan Credle is leaving the agency to become FCB's new global chief creative officer. As part of this shift, Jonathan Harries, who has been global chief creative officer at FCB since 2006, will become chairman of FCB. Executive Chairman Howard Draft, who had been in that role since 2009, retired at the end of 2014. Ms. Credle will relocate from Chicago to new York, taking about six months off before beginning her new job in early January. Mr. Murray, along with Mr. Harries, began the search for his successor a year ago. "The combination of her talent, drive and character make her a natural fit for where we want to take the company and the type of creative partner I want to work with," said Mr. Murray. "We now have a body of work for our clients that is substantially better than it was 12 months ago, and she'll help us strive for more." Since his arrival in 2013, Mr. Murray made a number of executive changes, some of them just three months into his new job. Shortly after, he oversaw the agency's name change from DraftFCB to FCB. Mr. Murray has also put an emphasis on the agency's creative and creative talent. In April, the shop shook up creative leadership at some of its U.S. offices, naming Karin Onsager-Birch the agency's West Coast chief creative officer. Also in April, the agency named Eric Cosper chief creative officer of FCB Garfinkel, the network's New York office. Overseas, FCB has made a number of internal promotions to find senior creative talent to lead those offices. Ms. Credle said that Mr. Murray is part of what made the move to FCB so appealing. "I remember meeting him years ago and just being immediately impressed with his energy and point of view," she said. "I like that he takes [his job] very seriously and still somehow manages to do it with joy and fun and effervescence, and I think that's what this business should be," she said, adding that Mr. Murray is the kind of leader who draws in talent. She also said the opportunity to run creative from a global perspective was "very interesting," in part because "social platforms have broken down barriers and the best work really is shared across borders." Ms. Credle joined Leo Burnett in 2009, after 24 years at Omnicom's BBDO, where she began her career after attending the University of North Carolina. While at Leo Burnett, Ms. Credle oversaw a number of attention-grabbing campaigns including Allstate's Mayhem, which launched in 2010, and Secret's "Mean Stinks." She was also leading creative as the agency last year began picking up more work for McDonald's, including a brand refresh and a Super Bowl earlier this year. At BBDO, Ms. Credle worked on M&M's, an account that garnered attention for its anthropomorphized M&M's characters, Cingulair, Bank of America, FedEx, Gillette, Lowe's and Pizza Hut. Leo Burnett is in the midst of finding a replacement for Ms. Credle. "We are sad to see Susan go but know that this global opportunity back in New York City is the right one for her," said Rich Stoddart, CEO at Leo Burnett North America, in a statement. "Susan has built up a powerful group of creative leaders here at Leo, and we're confident that they won't skip a beat. We are working quickly and aggressively to identify a new creative chief to continue the incredible momentum at this agency. But today, our focus is wishing Susan the best with lots of Leo love."

Susan Credle Named Global Chief Creative of FCB

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