• by Steve McClellan , April 20, 2016

Jo Shoesmith has been named Chief Creative Officer of Campbell Ewald, part of the Interpublic Group, and Kevin Wertz, currently the President of Campbell Ewald, adds the title of CEO. Wertz has been running the Detroit-based agency since January, subsequent to the dismissal of the agency’s former CEO Jim Palmer.

Shoesmith is the first female CCO in Campbell Ewald’s 105-year history. She’s also the first CCO to be located outside of the Detroit office and will continue to be based in Los Angeles.

Shoesmith, reporting to Wertz, joined the agency last year as Executive Creative Director from Leo Burnett Chicago where she was SVP Creative Director, working on such brands as Allstate and Hallmark. She succeeds longtime Chief Creative Officer Mark Simon who is retiring after 16 years with the agency. Shoesmith will oversee creative for all three of Campbell Ewald’s offices.

Palmer’s dismissal came several months after a creative in the agency’s San Antonio office distributed a racist memo that resulted in the loss of a major client based there—financial firm USAA (which subsequently moved its business to sibling agency MullenLowe).

“Ideas are our product,” stated Shoesmith.  “And it’s increasingly important to not just create stories, but to embrace all the tools at our disposal to tell these stories in innovative ways. We have the talent and the desire at Campbell Ewald to orchestrate the best ideas, the smarter ideas, and the most engaging ideas."