McCann London Boosts Creative Leadership Team with Three Senior Appointments

McCann London today announces three senior creative leadership appointments, ECD Regan Warner from Ogilvy, and creative directors Jacob Björdal and Jim Nilsson from DDB. These exciting hires follow the arrival of Jemima Monies, from adam&eveDDB, this year and are part of McCann London’s executive team’s focus on bringing top talent into the agency. 

Regan is renowned for her outstanding art direction of two award-winning campaigns. L’Oreal and British Vogue’s The Non-Issue starred Jane Fonda, took aim at preconceptions about ageing and galvanised efforts to make women over 50 more visible in media, while Dove’s As Early As Five, existed to make natural hair discrimination illegal in schools and workplaces across the US via The Crown Act.

Regan Warner will join as executive creative director, to lead McCann London’s creative department reporting into McCann UK’s joint CCOs Rob Doubal and Laurence Thomson. With 25 years' experience,  Regan returns to the award-winning agency from Ogilvy where she led creative output for brands such as Boots, No7, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hellmann’s, Comfort and Dove. She brings a track-record of industry wins with her, including:  Gold and Silver Cannes Lions, D&AD Pencils, Gold and Silver Clios, Grand LIA Print, a Gold Webby, two Gold Epicas and a Gold in Glass in Eurobest for L’Oréal Paris The Non-Issue.

Her commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and mentoring next generation creative talent, has led to her dedication to SheSays as a Momma Mentor, and Lollipop mentoring. She previously led the Creative Comeback London programme for Creative Equals, and was Co-chair of Ogilvy Equals, the agency’s internal inclusion network.

New creative directors Jim and Jacob most recently worked as CDs at Nord DDB and prior to that spent three years at Australia’s Clemenger BBDO where, as CDs, they spearheaded campaigns such as Earth’s Black Box and the recent Spotify campaign Super Fan Collection to great success. They sit among the most awarded creatives globally, and have had their work exhibited in art galleries, featured in marketing textbooks, and widely covered by news media.

During their initial stint at McCann London (2015-2019) Jacob and Jim created some of the world’s most awarded Microsoft Xbox campaigns, most iconically The Franchise Model which won a Cannes Lion Grand Prix for eCommerce and Gold for Creative Effectiveness. Alongside spearheading The Birth of Gaming Tourism, Survival Billboard and Squadvertiser, their creative ideas contributed to multiple industry awards for the brand including Advertiser of The Year (Clio’s 2019), Game Publisher of the Year (Clio Entertainment 2018) & the One Show Penta Pencil (2020) a highly prestigious award that recognises the strongest partnerships between client and agency. Their campaigns Football Decoded & The Birth of Gaming Tourism made a significant contribution to McCann Worldgroup being named Network of the Year at Cannes Lions in 2019. 

Following their first stint at McCann this marks an exciting homecoming for the three creatives and a continued expansion of the team at the flagship London agency.

Rob Doubal and Laurence Thomson, chief creative officers at McCann UK, said: “We pride ourselves in attracting an unfair share of the world’s best talent, and welcoming back talent no less fills us with joy. Regan is a dynamic, inclusive leader and a powerhouse of irrepressible talent. Jacob & Jim are creativity rock stars in their own right – titans of their trade. Parting once was bittersweet, that all three have now chosen to rejoin McCann is a huge moment for us and the agency, and testament to the strength of our creative culture. We are super, super stoked. Welcome home, Legends. The future is indeed exciting.”

Regan Warner, ECD at McCann London, said: “This is my third time at McCann and there’s a reason for that. Finding brand truths and pushing the boundaries of meaningful storytelling is in McCann’s DNA. That DNA runs through my creative soul and keeps calling me back to this incredible network of peers and friends. I’m truly obsessed with this craft and bringing the best out of people in an inspiring culture in which great ideas can happen. I believe McCann is the place for that obsession to feel home.”

Jacob Björdal and Jim Nilsson, creative directors at McCann London said: “McCann was where we had our creative breakthrough, thanks to a world-class team and ambitious clients. What attracted us to join in 2023 was the same thing as in 2015: the opportunity to create meaningful work with real scale and impact for the most iconic brands in the world.”

Daniel Fisher, global ECD, Unilever and Special Projects at Ogilvy, said: “Regan is the ultimate creative professional and has been a big part of the journey we’ve been on with Unilever over the past 3 years. She’s also an amazing human and whilst we’ll all miss her, we are also all very proud of her for landing such an amazing opportunity. It’s exactly what she deserves and we know she will thrive. We wish her every success.”