• by Amy Corr  @MediaPostOTL, September 8, 2015

McKinney promoted Walt Barron from head of account planning to chief strategy officer. In his new role, Barron will oversee creative strategy, research and analytics for the agency. As head of account planning, Barron led the team that won the ESPN SEC Network account, helped grow the agency's relationship with Samsung USA and was a contributor to numerous award-winning campaigns, including the Polaris' "Duel" and the Mizuno Running's "Mezamashii Run Project." In 2005, Barron joined McKinney from McGarrah Jessee in Austin, Texas, then left to lead account planning at Peter Mayer in New Orleans. He rejoined McKinney in 2012. "He is the most creatively-oriented strategist in the business," said Jonathan Cude, chief creative officer at McKinney. "He understands strategy is not an end in itself, but rather it's the work that helps our clients gain influence in the world."