McCann Worldgroup Promotes 2 Key Leaders to Fuel Growth

McCann Worldgroup announced two key promotions designed to further strengthen its global businesses hubbed out of Detroit. Grant Theron, formerly the global lead for the GM business, has been appointed global CEO of MRM, the customer relationship marketing (CRM) brand of the McCann Worldgroup network. Taking over Grant’s responsibilities on GM will be Belinda Leworthy, who has been elevated to a dual role of global business lead for GM and president, McCann Worldgroup Detroit. Both are effective immediately.

Grant previously served as global CEO of Commonwealth//McCann and as the network’s global business lead for GM, successfully stewarding the business through a period of significant growth and transformation. He simultaneously held the role of president of MRM Detroit, where he proved himself uniquely adept at breaking down silos between teams and re-organizing the business around core capabilities of AI-powered data analytics and customer relationship mapping. With a career that spanned many years at Wunderman, as well as his fluency with the breadth of the MRM CRM offering in Detroit, Grant is well-positioned to help MRM’s clients properly leverage the scale of their capabilities and centres of excellence.

The move comes as demand for MRM’s CRM core competency has accelerated. As customer data has become more accessible to brands, MRM is helping clients deliver personalised marketing at scale by leveraging IPG’s data and tech platforms, including the global Adobe content supply chain partnership.

Belinda will now serve as president, McCann Worldgroup Detroit and IPG’s global business lead for GM, taking over responsibility from Grant. Since joining two years ago as president, North America for Commonwealth//McCann, Belinda has established herself as a valued partner to GM and is often the first call when a problem arises that no one else can fix.  She will lead the integrated global team on the GM business, ensuring McCann Worldgroup continues delivering end-to-end content production and distribution at scale globally and across key markets.  She’ll also leverage that expertise on behalf of McCann Worldgroup Detroit’s broader client portfolio, which includes Abbott, Adobe, Bissell, Beautyrest, Cleveland Clinic, Lockheed Martin, Motor City Hotel and Casino, and Navy Federal Credit Union, in addition to GM, which remains McCann Worldgroup’s largest global client. Commonwealth//McCann, the dedicated agency for Chevrolet, was awarded GM’s Supplier of the Year award for multiple consecutive years under Belinda’s leadership, including in 2023.

Both Grant and Belinda will be based in Detroit.

Along with the recent hire of Detroit-based Lalita Koehler to global president, CRAFT, McCann Worldgroup’s global production company, these new appointments reflect the network’s larger commitment to leverage the talent, expertise and energetic hustle of the Detroit market into the world beyond.

“MRM is our flagship global brand when it comes to building enduring relationships with a client’s core customers. We are excited to have Grant step up to lead MRM globally, leveraging our deep bench of customer data and experience capabilities based in Detroit to global effect,” said Daryl Lee, global CEO, McCann Worldgroup. “And it is equally exciting to see Belinda take on the global role on GM based on her wealth of experience leading global teams for tech brands like Dell and Microsoft. With Grant and Belinda leading the way, we reaffirm our commitment to this important market that means so much to us all.”

Earlier this year, MRM landed a much-coveted spot on the McDonald’s global CRM roster and won its first Commerce gold Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for Samsung.

On the appointment, Grant said, “I’m excited to take on this role and to deliver on MRM's mission to help brands connect deeply with their customers in enduring, creative and profitable ways. Our teams here in Detroit and around the world have the expertise and knowledge to lead the industry in CRM, commerce and CX—and ultimately build enduring relationships between customers and brands.”

“I am looking forward to further strengthening our partnership with GM and its brands around the world,” added Belinda. “More broadly, the opportunity ahead and the talent that resides in Detroit cannot be overstated: for our current clients and future ones, we bring a modern combination of world-class creativity, specialist expertise, and industry know-how that’s unmatched and can’t be replicated.”

Kate MacNevin will continue as global chair of MRM, in addition to her role as global chief operating officer of McCann Worldgroup. Kate had previously served as global CEO of MRM.