Neil Heymann returns to Accenture after brief stint at Publicis’ Le Truc

Neil Heymann is joining Accenture Interactive as its first global chief creative officer after a brief stint at Publicis Groupe, the company said on Wednesday. 

The move remarks a return home for Heymann, who was previously global chief creative officer at Accenture Interactive-owned creative agency Droga5 for more than a decade. It brings Heymann back together with his former boss David Droga, who became CEO and creative chairman of Accenture Interactive in August.

In the new role, Heymann, who was not available for comment, will “be responsible for uniting, enhancing and amplifying creativity across Accenture Interactive’s creative and brand agencies,” according to a spokesperson. 

He will join Accenture Interactive in mid-February 2022 and work across clients including Jaguar Land Rover, Petco, L’Oréal Middle East and Molson Coors, as well as Accenture Interactive-owned agencies including Droga5, The Monkeys, Karmarama and Rothco. 

Heymann steps into the role just 10 months after joining Publicis Groupe as a founding partner and chief creative officer of Le Truc, a collective based in New York that aims to bring together 600 creatives from across Publicis’ agency offices in the city to collaborate and share creative ideas.

Other founding partners of Le Truc include former Ogilvy exec Bastien Baumann, Leo Burnett global creative chief Liz Taylor, Publicis North America CCO Andy Bird, managing partner of operations at Saatchi & Saatchi Elaine Barker and Publicis Groupe global chief strategy officer Carla Serrano, who leads the group as president. 

It’s unclear how the concept, which revolves around a physical office space at Publicis New York’s headquarters on 375 Hudson Street, is resonating with talent as uncertainty around COVID-19 continues with the rise of the Omicron variant. Le Truc recently won a brief from TikTok for a campaign released in October.

“We are sad to lose one of our partners at Le Truc but are happy to see our friend rise into the top echelons of the Accenture conglomerate,” members of the Le Truc collective said in a statement provided to Campaign US. “We wish Neil the best and if he ever wants to get into the work and the making again, he will always have a special place in our open and fluid creative community.”

For Accenture, Heymann’s return and the creation of a global CCO role, in addition to Droga’s elevation to CEO and creative chairman, is another sign that the consulting giant is doubling down on creativity. Accenture Interactive has acquired more than two dozen creative agencies globally since 2013.