• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, September 30, 2021

McCann Worldgroup has tapped Nike senior marketing executive Alex Lopez for the role of President & Global Chief Creative Officer, the top creative post at the agency network. He essentially fills the role left vacant when Rob Reilly departed for WPP earlier this year, albeit with a different title. 

At Nike Lopez held several global leadership posts, including Vice President, Global Marketing, Men's Creative Director at Nike and Co-Founder and Global Head Of Studio at Nike production company Waffle Iron Entertainment.

“We are looking at a broader future and what it means for us to be a leader in the business of creativity,” said Bill Kolb, Chairman and CEO, McCann Worldgroup. “Bringing Alex on board allows us to redefine the role of global chief creative officer and sets us on a path to help our network, and our clients, plan an even greater creative future for their brands and businesses. It will define how we do business, what the future of integrated marketing looks like, and how we measure our success.”

The agency credits Lopez, a 20-year Nike veteran with working “at the leading edge of evolving how Nike connects with consumers both at scale and on an individual basis, through traditional channels, existing digital channels and the latest, emerging technologies and platforms.”

Lopez has led some of the brand’s highest profile campaigns including the “Dream Crazy,” “Equality,” and “You Can’t Stop Us” campaigns. He also led efforts to launch new sport categories that include Nike Skateboarding and the brand’s launch into Digital Sport via the Fuel Band.

He also led its entry into long-form entertainment by co-founding the aforementioned Waffle Iron Entertainment (the name pays homage to the first pair of Nikes, created by co-founder Bill Bowerman in part with a waffle iron for the brand’s unique waffle-patterned sole).

Lopez has worked across the portfolio of brands within Nike Inc. and has overseen numerous disciplines including advertising and brand communication, social media, media planning and buying, digital brand innovation, events and more, at the global level and across several of its geographies and territories across the world.