Hasta La Creative!

Wow, it’s that kind of day. Well, this is big news as we’ve received confirmation from Arnold and its parent company Havas that Pam Hamlin has been promoted to the position of global president/Arnold Worldwide, effective immediately. As a result, Hamlin replaces global CEO Robert LePlae, global CEO, who, after “a period of transition, will leave Arnold to pursue other interests.”

Regarding the appointment of 15-year agency vet Hamlin, Havas chairman Yannick Bolloré, “I’ve had the opportunity on numerous occasions to spend time with Pam and the leadership team of Arnold Worldwide. They are a passionate and talented group of leaders, and David and I are confident in their dedication to clients and their expertise in delivering creative ideas that drive business.” At this point, we’re not sure if LePlae’s departure has to do with losing Volvo (and judging from the Spy line, don’t even know if it was amicable) but we’ll take the “transition” explanation for the time being. The former global CEO spent just 15 months at Arnold after serving as North American president at both McCann and TBWA for a couple of years.

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Unfortunately, we were at the airport yesterday morning awaiting the flight back home (sans laptop, still trying to stay off grid) when multiple tips poured in about Pete Favat leaving Arnold. Where to, we didn’t know at the time, but alas, the news broke as we were somewhere above the Midwest that the 14-year Arnold vet did indeed leave the Havas-owned agency to assume the CCO post at Deutsch L.A. Wading through the Favat-related tips this morning, we came across one which is basically Arnold global CEO Robert LePlae‘s memo to staff regarding the move and the appointment of Wade Devers and Pete Johnson as lead creative partners of Boston ops. It’s nothing shocking or anything you haven’t really read in the other trades, but if you want something verbatim from the inside, read on after the jump.

“All,

I am reaching out to let you know that after many years with Arnold, Pete Favat will be leaving the agency.

With a long held ambition to live on the west coast and new opportunities for his family, Pete has accepted a position in Los Angeles.  This is a desire that Pete has harbored for many years, and one he now has an opportunity to fulfill.

There is a plan prepared plan for this evolution.  Earlier this year we elevated Wade Devers to Executive Creative Director in Boston.  Wade is a brilliant craftsman, long-time leader at Arnold, and responsible for much of the best work that comes out of the agency.

Pete Johnson will partner with Wade as Executive Creative Directors.  He joined Arnold last year as one of the leading digital creative and content talents in the country.  It was a coupe for Arnold to get him, he’s delivered on all of our expectations, and we have a high degree of confidence in his talent, and ability to lead.

Wade and Pete Johnson bring a rich combination of conceptual ability, digital creative expertise, craftsmanship and design to the roles.  The increasing demands of creative leaders in recent years require this broad collective skill set, and we’re fortunate to have it readily in place.

I share this news with mixed emotions because of our genuine fondness for Pete Favat, and the many contributions he’s made. At the same time, there’s a talent evolution going on in our business, and we’re feeling quite good about the ability of our creative choices to drive this new direction for Arnold Boston.

Please join me in wishing Pete Favat the best in his new life, congratulating Wade and Pete Johnson in their new roles, and the great energy and success that can come with new leadership.

RLP”

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We first heard about this at the beginning of July and at the time, the Arnold camp couldn’t confirm that Curt Detweiler had assumed a senior-level post at the Havas-owned agency. Well, what do we have here, it appears that Detweiler has updated his LinkedIn to show that he’s now EVP/managing director/ECD at Arnold Worldwide. It doesn’t seem too far-fetched considering that Arnold’s global CEO is Robert LePlae, who in 2009 while serving as McCann North America president, brought on Detweiler as the agency’s North American creative chief.

LePlae eventually split from McCann in fall 2011 and landed at Arnold a year ago to initially assume the role of global president. As for Detweiler, the creative exec remains based out of San Francisco it appears. We’re trying to get  confirmation on his arrival and specifics such as his start date from Arnold, but as you may know, Detweiler spent several years as a creative director at various TBWA offices and served as partner/ECD at the now-defunct Ground Zero before joining McCann.

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As you may have read/heard, Volvo has announced that its launched its global creative review, but here’s a quick follow-up to the initial report. First off, here’s a statement from Robert LePlae, Arnold global CEO who assumed his post at the agency last summer and whose agency has been invited to defend, regarding the automaker’s move: “There’s new global leadership at Volvo who are rightly coming in and looking at all aspects of the business, specifically the centrally created advertising in Amsterdam. I’m new too at Arnold and we’ve done our own assessment. This leaves us eager and confident for the opportunity to show Volvo what we can do.”

Sources familiar with the matter add that while Adage reported that it was a global review, they say that Volvo’s move affects the centrally created advertising in Amsterdam only (which serves as central contact on the account for Arnold). The North American work out of Boston, and other local markets around the world, meanwhile, is not under review.

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