After less than a year in the role McCann Sydney ECD Michael Raso quits to join Ogilvy Sydney as group creative director and head of art

After less than a year in the role, McCann Sydney ECD Michael Raso has quit to join Ogilvy & Mather Sydney as group creative director and head of art.

Raso transferred from McCann New York to Sydney in January.

The move comes as no surprise, given the recent reverse takeover of Smart by McCann. As a result, Raso’s co-ECD partner at McCann Kieran Flanagan will takes on sole creative duties, reporting to national ECD John Mescall.

Raso will be primarily responsible for the creative output on the KFC account, and will also oversee art direction across a number of other key clients.

Raso has worked on some of the world’s most respected brands, including Mercedes Benz, Mastercard, Burger King and Singapore Airlines.   

He has almost two decades of experience, during which time he’s won a raft of industry accolades and awards, including Cannes, London Internationals, One Show, New York Festivals, AdFest, Mobius, Addy’s, Kelly Award, Kinsale Shark Award and Spikes.

Raso started his career in Sydney under David Droga at OMON, and went on to work for a range of agencies including McCann New York, Batey/Redcell in Singapore, plus Deutsch and Ammirati Puris Lintas New York.

Says John Mescall, executive creative director at McCann-Erickson Australia: “We wish Michael all the best in his new role. He is a passionate and talented creative, and an asset to any creative department.

“But we’ve been lucky enough to secure a fantastic global candidate as his replacement, who not only has a brilliant creative pedigree as far as the work is concerned, but also proven experience at the rather tricky business of managing creative departments. We’d love to tell you who it is, but we’ll be making that announcement as soon as a starting date is confirmed.”

McCann is currently recruiting for a new national head of planning and national head of digital.