• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, July 18, 2014

Interpublic Group's McCann Worldgroup has appointed Mark Lund as CEO of UK opereration, a new position at the agency. He starts in October and will report to Luca Lindner, President, McCann Worldgroup. 

Lund is tasked with integrating McCann Worldgroup’s operations—comprising more than 1,500 staffers—throughout the UK across advertising, customer relationship management, promotion/event/shopper marketing, design, PR, healthcare, and digital marketing. 

The McCann reorganization is taking place in one of IPG’s best performing regions currently. IPG reported that its UK operation posted organic revenue growth of 16.4% in the second quarter of the year, tops among all the individual regions broken out by the holding company in its second quarter earnings report. 

Asked on an earnings call if the World Cup or any other one-offs contributed to the stellar performance, IPG CEO Michael Roth said no and that rather, “everything did well in the UK,” during the period. The company didn’t specifically break out McCann Worldgroup’s UK performance. 

“Mark understands the complexities of our business today and has a grasp of the challenges facing brands looking to connect with consumers in the marketplace,” Lindner said of the new McCann UK manager. His experience, Lindner added,  “provides him with a valuable perspective on how best to leverage all of our multiplatform disciplines to benefit our clients and drive integration across all of our agencies.” 

Prior to co-founding NOW three years ago, Lund served as CEO of the Central Office of Information (COI), the UK Government’s marketing agency. Prior to COI, he co-founded Delaney Lund Knox Warren (DLKW), which became a top 10 agency in the UK.

The move follows last year's promotion of Chris Macdonald, who had run McCann Worldgroup London to head of the agency's New York office. Two executives replaced Macdonald in London: Rob Doubal and Laurence Thomson were named co-presidents and Chief Creative Officers of McCann London. Previously, they were co-executive creative directors at the London shop.