McCann Manchester has appointed two long-standing employees as joint managing directors as part of a strategy to “drive long-term growth”.
Simon Buchanan will be responsible for the agency’s Aldi business, while Richard Aldiss takes on responsibility for the agency’s main client base including Smyths Toys, Harveys, Shire, CrossCountry Trains and cottages.com. Both will report into agency chief executive Sue Little.
Buchanan joined McCann in 1997 as a managing partner from Navigator and during his time has led business for brands as wide ranging as Durex, Britannia Building Society, Co-operative Bank, The TTA, The COI and Barclays Bank. He assumed responsibility for the Aldi account in 2008 and has overseen a period of continual success in terms of Aldi and agency growth.
Aldiss’s career with McCann stretches back over 25 years when he joined McCann Birmingham as a trainee media planner. In 1999 he joined McCann Manchester as a media group head, and has since held senior account management roles running business including Holiday Inn, Npower and London 2012. He was promoted to managing partner last year.
McCann Manchester chief executive, Sue Little, said: “Simon and Richard bring an immense amount of experience to their respective roles and have been key forces in our success over the past few years. I am confident they will continue to drive the future growth we are looking for and it is testament to our business that we have made both appointments from within the organisation.
“As an industry we face ongoing change and ever shifting client needs and our goal is to shape the agency to meet those needs now and for the future.”
Part of McCann Worldgroup, McCann Manchester employs more than 350 people at three sites: Bonis Hall, Pyx Studios and McCann Connected in Manchester city centre.
