Mike Sheldon, CEO of Deutsch LA, has been named CEO, Deutsch North America overseeing both the LA and NY offices. He will be reporting to Linda Sawyer who becomes chairman—succeeding Donny Deutsch and the late David Deutsch. Val DiFebo will continue as CEO of Deutsch NY and Deutsch LA’s partner/COO Kim Getty is elevated to president of that office.
Sawyer said, “Mike is the right person for the next chapter of Deutsch. In his 17-year run he has built strong client relationships, has an innate ability to attract top-tier talent and has built a world-class integrated agency. Under his leadership the L.A. office has grown from a handful of people to what is now the largest agency on the West Coast.”
Donny Deutsch, who has been a non-active chairman for the past several years, becomes chairman emeritus. He will formally end his relationship with the agency at the end of March 2015 as he continues with his TV career. Deutsch said of Sawyer that she “has been a formidable force at the agency for 25 years. And as CEO for the past nine years she has managed with an iron fist in a velvet glove, effortlessly guiding the agency’s growth and successes. I couldn’t be more proud and excited about the future of the agency that my dad founded 45 years ago. This agency has been such a big part of my life and I’m thrilled to see it in the hands of these people who are so dear to me.”
Additionally Winston Binch, formerly chief digital officer of Deutsch LA, will become the chief digital officer, Deutsch North America. Binch is a highly respected digital leader and has served as the agency’s engine of innovation. In L.A. he has built a team of 190 digital specialists in four years. As a result, digital is now 35% of LA’s revenue.
Pete Favat, formerly chief creative officer of Deutsch LA, will become chief creative officer, Deutsch North America. Since Favat’s arrival, he has attracted sought after talent and fostered work that has received global recognition, including eight Cannes Lions.
And Jeff White, sr. VP, director of business development at Deutsch LA, has been promoted to exec VP/chief marketing officer for Deutsch North America. Under White’s guidance over the past year the agency has been awarded AOR assignments from Sprint, Pizza Hut, HTC, Nintendo, Vivint and Georgia-Pacific, among others.
