Doug Sweeny Named President of Young & Rubicam West

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - May 6, 2011) - David Sable, Chief Executive Officer of Y&R, and Tom Sebok, President & CEO of Y&R North America, announced today that Doug Sweeny has been appointed President of the agency's West Coast operations. Starting his new position in early June, Sweeny will be based in San Francisco and will be responsible for leading both Y&R's San Francisco and Irvine agencies, partnering with Y&R West CCO Joe Kayser -- a reunion for the two who were partners at Chiat SF.

Sweeny joins Y&R West from Levi Strauss & Co., where he spent the past four years serving as the Vice President of Global Brand Marketing. In this role, Sweeny led the revitalization of the global brand strategy, positioning , digital/social and internal culture, culminating in the Go Forth campaign which has driven Levi's sales and market share to its best levels in over a decade.

"I am thrilled that Doug will be leading our West Coast operations. He is an inspired marketing leader, a champion of innovation and creativity, and a proven change agent," said Sebok. "We are also happy to reunite him with his former creative partner, Joe Kayser. They will be a formidable force together."

"So happy to team up with Joe again. He is that rare blend of talent who can create brilliant work and deeply understands the business," said Sweeny. "Y&R has made some great hires and has been producing incredible work of late under Tony and David's leadership. We're looking to build on that same energy on the West Coast."

Prior to Levi's, Doug was the Managing Director of TBWA\Chiat\Day's San Francisco office and ran the global business for adidas under the umbrella of "Impossible is Nothing." Before Chiat\Day, Doug was the VP Account Director leading the Saturn campaign at Hal Riney & Partners, "Different Kind of Company. A Different Kind of Car."

"I'm thrilled Doug is joining me," said Joe Kayser, Chief Creative Officer of Y&R West.
"We worked together at Chiat SF and did some great things on great brands. Then he went client side and helped reinvigorate Levi's. Now he comes back to Y&R West with a deeper appreciation for the needs and a better understanding of how companies are trying to move forward today. Our goal is to make great work together and turn our agency into an idea factory for our clients," said Kayser.

Sweeny's awards for clients include Cannes Advertiser of the Year for adidas, CLIO, One Show and Effies. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Consumer Studies from Syracuse University.

About Young & Rubicam
Young & Rubicam is one of the world's leading marketing communications companies. The agency's work spans the communications spectrum and reflects the transformation that digital has driven across all media. In 2010, Y&R was ranked among the Top Three global agency networks for creativity at the prestigious Cannes International Festival. Y&R's New York agency was also named the #1 agency in the U.S. and #2 worldwide at Cannes. Y&R was also awarded Network of the Year ranking by the Art Directors Club, the NY Festivals and the London International Awards.

Young & Rubicam has 186 offices in 90 countries around the world. Its clients are some of the world's most prestigious global brands, including Virgin Atlantic, Xerox, Accenture, Bacardi, Campbell's Soup Company, Colgate-Palmolive, Danone, GAP, Land Rover, MTV, LG and Telefonica, to name a few. For more information, visit www.yr.com.