• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, June 30, 2016

Keeping with the trend of brands bringing agency professionals into their marketing ranks, McDonald's has named Ogilvy & Mather's Colin Mitchel to the newly-created position of McDonald's Brand Global VP. Mitchell will report to McDonald's Global CMO Silvia Lagando.

In a statement McDonald's said Mitchell "will be responsible for articulating the McDonald's brand vision and positioning, and inspiring and guiding the organization to reinvigorate the brand globally. He will be tasked with impacting major pieces of the McDonald's brand, including advertising, visual identity and packaging."

Mitchell had been with Ogilvy since 1999, most recently in the position of worldwide head of strategic planning. During his time with Ogilvy, Mitchell worked on Coke, Cisco, BlackRock and IBM.

On Mitchell joining McDonald's, Lagando said, "Colin is widely respected as one of the brightest and most talented planners in the advertising industry and we are delighted to welcome him to McDonald's at such an exciting and important time. His invaluable experience working with major global companies and his passion for brand vision and strategy will have a lasting impact in our business."

Of his appointment, Mitchell said, "The future of brands lies in space between communications and experience, and no brand is better placed to build that future than McDonald's. The company has deep assets and visionary leaders. I couldn't be more excited to join them."