• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, October 26, 2011

Universal McCann has hired creative agency executive Yin Woon Rani to run its North American division as president. Rani effectively replaces Jacki Kelly, who ran the North American unit as CEO until January, when she was elevated to global CEO, replacing Matt Seiler who was promoted to CEO of Mediabrands, the Interpublic unit that oversees the holding company’s media operations.

Rani joins UM from WPP’s Grey Worldwide, where she was senior vice president in charge of the GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare account team. 

Rani is the second consecutive leader to run UM’s North American unit who didn’t come up through the media agency ranks. Kelly came from the media owner side of the business. Her predecessor, Seiler, had run Omnicom’s PHD prior to joining UM.

In her new role, Rani will be responsible for all North American UM operations, including planning and buying across all channels, as well as business development and the oversight of all accounts in the region.

Commenting on the hire, Kelly stated that Rani brings “exceptional client management skills, the ability to persuade and sell new ideas, and a rich balance of strategy and executional excellence,” among other qualities.

Prior to overseeing the GSK account, Rani worked a number of other client assignments at the agency, including Procter & Gamble, M&M/Mars, the J.M. Smucker’s Company, and Hasbro.

Rani started her career at Grey right out of Yale, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1996 with a degree in English and Chinese literature. While there, she also earned an MBA at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Born in Malaysia and raised in Singapore, Rani will remain based in New York and report directly to Kelly.