McCann Erickson and McCann Worldgroup Japan hires John Woodward as chief strategy officer

John Woodward has been appointed chief strategy officer for both McCann Erickson Japan and McCann Worldgroup Japan effective April 1. Woodward (pictured left), who has been global planning director, Publicis Worldwide relocates from Paris, where he has been based for seven years, to Tokyo.

Charles Cadell, president, McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific said,  “John is a highly experienced global strategist, with a deep knowledge of Asia having lived and worked in the region for six years before his move to Paris. John will add enormous value to our business in Japan and we’re delighted to welcome him to the team.”

Working closely with Richard McCabe, regional planning director, McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific and Yasuyuki Katagi, president & CEO McCann Worldgroup Japan, Woodward will be responsible for elevating McCann Worldgroup’s impressive portfolio of multi-national clients who are based in Japan.

As global planning director at Publicis Worldwide, a position Woodward was planning lead on Samsung, Nescafe, AXA, Orange and UBS. In addition to his client responsibilities, Woodward was responsible for helping the in-market planning teams build a new positioning for the global network from the ground-up.

Prior to joining Publicis Worldwide, Woodward was regional planning director at Leo Burnett Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong, a role he held for six years. John joined Leo Burnett as a graduate trainee and has worked in London, Milan and Sydney, as well as Hong Kong.

Commenting on Woodward’s appointment, Yasuyuki Katagi, president and CEO McCann Worldgroup Japan said, “Having someone of John Woodward’s caliber, to further raise our strategic planning capabilities, demonstrates our on-going commitment to provide our clients with the very best. John’s expertise with global clients in collaboration with the specialized capabilities and local experience of each discipline’s strategic planning resource at McCann Worldgroup is a winning combination for developing integrated solutions that will deliver rewarding results for our clients in Japan as well as Japanese clients going global.”

Commenting on his appointment Woodward said, “I’m excited to be joining McCann Worldgroup during this incredible time of growth within in the network. The depth of resource and vision for integration and creativity offer a great opportunity for the chief strategy officer’s role, especially in a country that has for so long been in the vanguard of new innovations.”