Hasta La Creative!

Matt Ian, a longtime creative department fixture who spent the last two years as ECD at TBWAChiatDay New York, will leave that agency this month to become group creative director at Droga5.

Sources told us about the move before the ink had even dried on Ian’s contract, and today his new employer confirmed the story as he prepares to end his tenure with the TBWA organization.

Almost exactly two years ago, Ian left Deutsch LA for TBWA in order to replace Matt Figliulo; the latter had just made the break in order to launch his own agency, which later won and lost Sprint. While at Deutsch, Ian served as ECD on the Volkswagen account but did not work on that one campaign. You know the one.

Prior to his 2011 hire by then-Deutsch CCO Mark Hunter, Ian led creative on the Microsoft Windows account at Crispin, Porter + Bogusky. During his previous nine-year stint with BBH in the Big Apple, he helped launch AXE in the states while writing and directing ads for Johnnie Walker and Levi’s, among others. Prior agency roles include stints writing copy at Ogilvy & Mather and, yes, TBWA New York under then-chief David Page (currently of BouchezPage).

When Rob Schwartz was promoted to CEO of TBWA New York in January, he said that Matt Ian would retain his ECD position–but Ian frames the new gig as the product of a natural and even inevitable progression, writing:

“I’ve always admired Droga5’s strong creative pedigree and diversity of client experience. Overall, the agency has produced some of the most influential work in the business, and if you can’t beat em, join ‘em.”

The new hire, of course, follows the agency’s big week at Cannes, at which it won Independent Agency of the Year. From Chief Creative Officer Ted Royer:

“Over the past year, Droga5 has experienced exponential growth and a record year on the awards front. We are always looking to add great talent to the team to continue this momentum. We are are thrilled to welcome Matt to the agency and look forward to seeing him in action.”

And here we thought no one in the ad industry obsessed over awards.

It took some time, but the folks at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York have finally landed a new head of integrated production in Chad Hopenwasser, who joins the agency after spending nearly the last eight years at Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Hopenwasser essentially succeeds Robert Valdes, who left Chiat NY last spring and eventually joined up with Droga5 NY to serve as head of interactive production. But Valdes, as you may know, has recently left Droga5 to join up with old Chiat pal Mark Figliulo at the latter’s new shop, Figliulo & Partners.

As for Hopenwasser, the exec spent the last couple of years at CP+B  serving as VP/director of video production across the agency’s network, working on, among other efforts, campaigns for Xbox and the new Kraft Mac n’ Cheese work starring Vanilla Ice. Prior to his lengthy stay at CP+B, Hopenwasser spent six years at Grey New York. He will officially assume his new post at Chiat NY in mid-March and work along the agency’s ECD, Matt Ian, and report to report to office president, Robert Harwood-Matthews.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

A little bit of staffing news for you this afternoon as TBWA\Chiat\Day NY has added to its creative department by welcoming Mother alums Erik Holmdahl and Beth Ryan, art director and copywriter, respectively, to the fold as CDs. The pair spent the last year, give or take, at Mother helping lead creative for Stella and Microsoft but spent the majority of their careers at BBH, with both working for over a half-decade at the latter agency on campaigns for the likes of Sprite, Axe and Google. Prior to BBH, Holmdahl worked at StrawberryFrog for a few years while Ryan put in the same amount of time at DDB Seattle.

The pair’s new boss and former BBH colleague, Matt Ian, who joined up with TBWA\C\D NY as creative chief from Deutsch LA this past summer, speaks highly (obviously) of the new hires, saying in a statement, “We hear the term ‘hybrid creative’ thrown around a lot, but I haven’t met too many who are genuinely ambidextrous. When I worked with them at BBH, I quickly came to realize that Beth and Erik are as strong digitally as they are with the traditional work. They think simply and inventively. They can give you an innovative idea for an app or a digital platform, and then turn around and hit a home run with a TV script.”

Along with the new CDs, Chiat NY has also brought on former Anomaly Toronto director of design Melatan Riden in a similar role as design director.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

We knew something was in the air when just the words “Matt Ian” popped up in our tips box on Saturday of all days. Well, as we alluded to in our earlier TBWA\Chiat\Day NY-related post this morning, the “big announce” is that, yes, Matt Ian, is taking over for Mark Figliulo as creative head of said agency’s New York office. As tipsters mentioned, the CCO title does not apply as of now; Ian, now in his second stint at TBWA, instead joins as executive creative director. Figliulo, who spent the last five-plus years as CCO/chairman of Chiat NY, is moving on to start his own shop.

Ian, meanwhile, joins from Deutsch L.A., where he served as EVP/group creative director on VW (recent examples include the baseball and Rubik’s Cube/racing spots). Prior to joining Deutsch, Ian worked as a senior creative at the likes of CP+B (on Microsoft Windows) and BBH New York, the latter of which he spent nine years at working on, of course, Axe as well as Johnnie Walker and Levi’s. In a statement regarding his move back to NYC, Ian says, “I wasn’t actively looking to leave Deutsch, LA or Volkswagen. But when I met Robert and talked with him about his plans for the NY office, jumping at the chance to write the next chapter of the TBWA\Chiat\Day NY story was a no-brainer.” Ian will officially join TBWA\Chiat\Day NY in August.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.