North American President Leaving Havas for Indie BDD

This morning AdAge ran a story confirming the eminent departure of Joy Schwartz, who most recently held the position of president of performance marketing, Havas Worldwide Chicago.

According to our tipsters, this came as news to those who work(ed) for her.

Schwartz, who spent more than twelve years with Havas, will run the just-announced Chicago office of BDD or Barrie D’Rozario DiLorenzo (formerly Barrie D’Rozario Murphy), starting next week. As the piece notes, the Minneapolis-based agency has expanded its executive team in recent months, hiring president and partner Kevin DiLorenzo from OLSON and opening a San Francisco office while preparing to set up shop in New York as well.

Our tips specifically claim that staffers received no announcement regarding Schartz’s departure — and that they learned of the news first thing this morning via the AdAge piece itself.

Contacts did not respond to AdAge or this blog, but other sources (who apparently know more than those who contacted us) told the magazine that the agency has begun searching for Schwartz’s replacement. She assumed the role of president in May after serving as co-president since 2009.

Updates as we receive them.

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Olson COO Murphy Takes On New Title

Just to soothe the usual doomsday tips, we’ve been told by those in the know that Margaret Murphy‘s position as chief operating officer at Olson is indeed being eliminated, but the exec is very much within the fold at the Minneapolis-based agency. Murphy will now take on the role of president at Olson’s 1:1 loyalty marketing unit, which works with likes of Amtrak, Best Buy and Toys “R” Us, as president. From what we’ve been told, the role shift is part of a “flattening” of sorts of leadership at the agency courtesy of CEO John Partilla, who took over for Kevin DiLorenzo at the beginning of the year.

Murphy most recently served as president/COO at the agency and was part of the initial leadership team when Olson joined forces with Denali Marketing back in 2010. During her career, Murphy also spent nearly two decades at fellow Twin Cities operation Carlson Marketing Group, where she last served as SVP, client services.

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