• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, September 24, 2015

FCB Worldwide has promoted Erika Darmstaedter to Chief Client Officer, a new role at the agency. 

A 30-year ad industry veteran Darmstaedter has been global account director for the agency’s Beiersdorf account since 2011. She’ll continue to oversee that account as she takes on the new role. 

Darmstaedter reports to global CEO Carter Murray, who said that he knew coming into the position two years ago that he wanted to create the Chief Client Officer role. “It’s such a critical function,” he said, because account leaders “have to get clients excited about kind of agency we are.” When that happens, both sides benefit, he said. 

Murray said he worked closely with Darmstaedter for many months to make sure she was right for the new role. What he saw impressed him very much. “She leads by example,” living and breathing a client’s business, he said. “She’s a true client partner.” 

During Darmstaedter’s time leading the Beiersdorf business, the company has won 15 Cannes Lions including a Mobile Grand Prix for NIVEA's “Protection Ad” in 2014. Other client brands include Acquaphor and Eucerin.

Darmstaedter has also served as President, FCB Hamburg from 2013 until earlier this year when she stepped down to prepare for the Chief Client Officer role. 

Fluent in three languages (German, English and French) the Swiss native began her career at Young & Rubicam as an account coordinator. Later she joined Saatchi & Saatchi where she rose to managing director of the Zurich Office and then CEO Group Saatchi & Saatchi Switzerland. She was instrumental in building out the agency’s shopper marketing network, Saatchi & Saatchi X in the Europe Middle East and Africa region. 

Darmstaedter said she believes the industry has spent too little time and energy focused on the account side of the business. She made the move back to account management she said because of the dual nature of the role--being responsible for the client’s business as well as growing the agency’s. Both sides of the relationship have to be balanced, she said, “or we will falter.”

Darmstaedter’s promotion follows the recent hiring of Susan Credle to serve as the agency’s Global Chief Creative Officer, effective January 2016. With the two hires, the global leadership team at FCB will be nearly 50% female and have representatives from six nationalities.