McCann Philippines names three managing partners

They replace the vacant managing director post previously held by Nandy Villar.

Back In April, chairman and CEO of MWG Philippines Patricia 'Ricki' Arches stepped down from her post, paving the way for Nandy Villar, who had held the MD post since 2006, to be elevated to the position of MWG Philippines president and chief operating officer.

Garcia, Velez and Chincuanco now step up to the new structure as managing partners at the agency, tasked with growing McCann Erickson's business with a focus on creativity, innovation, performance and collaboration to create marketing solutions that transform brands. In addition, they will head McCann Erickson's collaboration with other MWG disciplines in pushing digital, shopper and healthcare marketing initiatives.

Prior to their appointments, all three were client service directors at the agency. MWG Philippines declined to comment further on the reasons why three managing partners were specifically chosen other than to strengthen the leadership team, but a source in the industry noted that at McCann's offices in London, a similar realignment across the group has also taken place there.

Commenting on the realignment, Roy Santiago, managing director at DDB Philippines, pointed out that every organisation should evolve itself to meet the changing needs of its clients, the changing behavior of the consumer and the multiplicity of channels that drive creativity.

"In the 1980s, McCann was structured as three divisions headed by a division manager while in the 1990’s the three divisions were split up into 10 business units each headed by a business unit director. Their structure has changed over the past 20 years and strategically, I believe this move provides greater growth opportunity for them. Other markets have already adopted the managing partner structure as this empowers key people to drive their businesses more effectively and spot more opportunities for business growth," Santiago remarked. 

He continues, "With the growing demand for more specialised services such as digital and health, I think that appointing three managing partners would create more synergy as the managing partners leverage the various service offerings of MWG. I personally think that this is a good organisational move."

MWG Philippines has continued to build on its consistent performance over the years, most recently winning new businesses such as Enervon, and forging an alliance with FutureBrand to introduce a new brand consultancy space.