• by Wayne Friedman , August 18, 2009

A major shakeup for McCann Worldgroup's Asia-Pacific division will see the departure of senior executive Kevin Ramsey and the veteran McCann executive Michael McLaren taking over.

McLaren, a veteran of McCann since 1999, had been CEO of McCann's Worldgroup EXP since February, overseeing a number of multinational accounts in North America. McLaren will have the title of regional director of McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific and president/CEO of McCann Worldgroup Japan.

Replacing McLaren will be Matt Ross, who had been president of McCann Worldgroup San Francisco. He was named CEO of Worldgroup EXP and will lead the company from San Francisco. Both McLaren and Ross start in their new roles November 15.

McLaren will have responsibility for McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific, which covers 24 cities in 17 countries, from Korea to Australia, McLaren's native country. He will be based in Tokyo.

"He understands the needs of global clients, has operational experience in our single largest market, as well as entrepreneurial success," said John Dooner, chairman and CEO of McCann Worldgroup, in a release.

Among a number of clients, McLaren has worked with many of McCann's large packaged-goods marketers over the years, such as Nestle, Unilever, Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson, as well as ExxonMobil.

Ramsey was regional director of McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific since 2007 and president/CEO of McCann Worldgroup Japan since 2004. "Kevin has done a great job of positioning our Asia Pacific operations for ongoing success," says Dooner. "We have the highest respect for him ... and hopefully will work with him again in the future."

In addition, Robert LePlae came to the agency as president of McCann Erickson North America last month. Based in San Francisco, he will oversee all McCann-branded agencies in the region, excluding McCann Erickson New York.