McCann Worldgroup Appoints Stephanie Nerlich Global President of McCann

McCann Worldgroup announced today that it has named industry veteran Stephanie Nerlich as global president of the McCann agency. She will report directly to global CEO of McCann Worldgroup and McCann, Daryl Lee.

In this newly created role, Stephanie will be responsible for driving business growth for McCann, in partnership with the regional presidents of McCann Worldgroup, with a particular focus on expanding new capabilities in global markets. As part of her McCann responsibilities, Stephanie will also provide executive leadership and counsel on the Verizon business for McCann in the US. Her dual role represents the latest in a new leadership structure spearheaded by Daryl in which top executives assume dual roles at both the agency and client level to foster deeper collaboration and better access to resources for key clients.

Daryl said, “Stephanie is a powerhouse in our industry. Her career is a masterclass in the business of creativity, with equal emphasis on both. She is a champion of creativity with the unmatched ability to bring the right teams together for clients, simultaneously driving business growth and fuelling brand innovation. We are delighted to have her join the global leadership of the storied brand of McCann.” 

Stephanie joins from Havas, where she was chief executive officer, North America, and the global chief client officer for the Havas Creative Group. During her tenure at Havas North America, she led the creative network to strong growth, a successful new business track record and its best-ever showings in Cannes and the Effies, as well as a host of industry accolades for Havas agencies. Prior to her time at Havas, Stephanie held business leadership roles at a variety of agencies, serving as executive vice president at MDC Partners, president & CEO of Grey and president & CEO of Lowe Roche. Throughout her career and in all of these executive roles, she expanded revenue and capabilities, secured recognition for the work and clients, and successfully stewarded the businesses through acquisitions and sales.

“I am thrilled to join McCann as global president,” added Stephanie. “It’s rare that an opportunity with such a celebrated agency comes along, particularly one that can deliver industry-leading creativity that solves business problems for such an enviable roster of clients. I look forward to joining Daryl and the entire McCann Worldgroup leadership team helping to drive our next chapter of Truth Well Told.”

Stephanie joins McCann at a time of momentum and accolades for the agency, fresh from being ranked in the top five networks at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Top awarded work included Mastercard's ‘Where to Settle’ project which was awarded a coveted Dan Wieden Titanium Lion, a Grand Prix and two Golds, and Microsoft’s ADLaM which won two Grand Prix, one in Design and one in Creative Business Transformation, as well as new business wins that include TJ Maxx, Reckitt’s Durex and Air India, among others.