McCann Worldgroup Names Anaka Kobzev Global Chief Communications Officer
NEW YORK, NY, November 16, 2022 – McCann Worldgroup, the global creative network comprised of best-in-class agency brands including McCann, MRM, and FutureBrand, announced today that Anaka Kobzev has been appointed Global Chief Communications Officer effective January 2023. She will report directly to McCann Worldgroup’s new Global CEO, Daryl Lee, in the company’s New York headquarters and sit on McCann Worldgroup’s Global Leadership Team.
Kobzev will draw on nearly two decades of creative and media agency experience to advance the company’s focus on the business of creativity, showcasing the company’s creative work and creative people from around the world. In the role she will oversee global communications, as well as reputation management, social presence, and employee communications.
Daryl Lee, CEO of McCann Worldgroup, who stepped into the role in early September, commented, “Creativity is our reason for being. It’s why people come to work here and why clients choose to work with us at McCann Worldgroup. We are the source of enduring creativity for many of the world’s most iconic brands. Telling the stories behind that work and the enormous impact we have on our clients’ businesses as a result is as central to our future success, as it has been in the past.”
Lee added, “Anaka is also a seasoned storyteller who understands the power of creativity in all its forms. Having worked for powerhouse agencies like TBWA and Initiative, she understands the full breadth of creativity and how it can manifest in the 21st century. I am really looking to working with her to shape the future story of McCann Worldgroup.”
Kobzev’s understanding of what it takes for a brand to earn a role in people’s lives has helped some of our industry’s most impactful work also become the world’s most talked about. Since 2016, she has helped guide TBWA’s reputation as global head of communications, leading the global creative collective’s public relations strategy and communications discipline. During that time TBWA was recognized as Adweek’s Global Agency of the Year in 2021 and 2018, Ad Age’sNetwork of the Year in 2022, and one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies for the past four years. She joined TBWA in 2016 from J. Walter Thompson, where she served as Director of Communications for North America.
“I’m thrilled to be joining McCann Worldgroup,” said Kobzev. “I’ve always believed the network’s philosophy of Truth Well Told is a clear and compelling north star. As a communications leader, it’s especially meaningful. Over the years, they have created powerful brand platforms and produced creative work that I’ve admired from afar and held up as examples of creative excellence. The energy of the team is exceptional and the commitment to creativity is undeniable. It will be a privilege to tell the story of McCann Worldgroup’s next great chapter.”
The appointment marks a return to Interpublic for Kobzev. She spent more than a decade at IPG agencies at the start her career, including stretches at fast-growing media agency, Initiative, on the West Coast, as well as for the IPG corporate communications team.
She is a past co-chair of the 4A’s Agency Communications Committee and has twice served on the Public Relations Jury for The One Show.
Kobzev ’s appointment come on the heels of the network’s recognition as the Most Creatively Effective Agency Network in the global Effie Effectiveness Index and new client wins, including Converse, ASOS and Post Cereals.
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