Bryan Kane is joining FCB as president of FCB Canada starting Sept. 3.
Kane will over see FCB’s Toronto and Montreal offices and FuelContent, reporting directly to Tyler Turnbull. Previously CEO for FCB Canada, Turnbull was promoted to Group CEO responsible for Canada and New York in May.
“Bryan is a fearless leader who built his career growing clients and agency capabilities,” said Turnbull in a release. “He’s smart, energetic and passionate about brands and knows how to bring the right people together to build great teams.”
Kane’s move comes after spending his entire 19-year career with Publicis, rising to president of the agency’s Toronto office. Before that, he was instrumental in building Publicis’ digital operation Modem. It was there he first got to know Turnbull and FCB global CEO Carter Murray who had a global role with Publicis in late 2000s.
Kane said that part of what attracted him to the job was how the organization puts people ahead of the company, with a focus on people and things like diversity and inclusion.
“It goes from a network perspective and it starts with Carter Murray. There is a real respect for that and when you meet Carter, it is incredible to see someone who grounds everything that the network does in those values and against people,” said Kane, pointing to FCB’s recent decision to resign the Nivea account over concerns about homophobia as a proof of that commitment. “That was not an easy business decision, but when you put the people first that is the kind of decision you make.”
As for priorities, Kane said he’ll start by learning more about what his team wants to accomplish. “I have to meet with everyone and really listen and learn and understand their priorities and how I can support them in the short term,” he said.
When a new executive takes over at an agency they are often there to make changes, but that is not the case at FCB—which has undeniably been one of the most successful agencies in Canada in the past few years.
Its hot streak roughly coincides with the hiring of Turnbull as CEO of the Toronto office in 2014, naming Nancy Crimi-Lamanna and Jeff Hilts as creative directors in Toronto in 2015, and Shelley Brown as chief strategy officer. Recent new clients include Fountain Tire, BMW and The Home Depot, and FCB has been a top performer among Canadian agencies in top awards shows.
“It is not about coming in to fix something, it is about helping to continue the momentum they have,” said Kane.
