Hank Summy, formerly with SapientNitro, is joining McCann Erickson next month as president, North America. He will be based in New York and report to Nick Brien, chairman/CEO, McCann Worldgroup. Summy’s initial focus will be McCann’s flagship New York office working closely with chairman/chief creative officer, Linus Karlsson.
Summy also will assume management responsibility for regional McCann agencies across the U.S. and Canada. Along with the established leadership team, his responsibility will be to drive change and deliver the highest standards of creative excellence, strategic innovation, digital velocity and performance measurement. He will work with Patrick Lafferty who has been promoted to COO of McCann North America.
At SapientNitro, Summy was the managing director of its Eastern region and a member of the agency’s leadership team. When Sapient acquired Nitro two years ago, Summy led the successful integration of the two companies, including defining the value proposition and operating model for the combined entity globally. SapientNitro is a top 10 ranked U.S. agency.
Lafferty joined McCann Worldgroup just over a year ago as managing director of global brands, and established the Global Brands Community (GBC), a successful collaborative entity comprised of the heads of McCann Worldgroup’s key global businesses.
Previously, Lafferty’s posts included CMO of Travel Channel Media, where he drove double-digit business growth, technological innovation, and helped transform the company from a linear TV network to an integrated travel media business. Earlier he held senior account director posts at Leo Burnett, including key leadership of two of the agency’s highest profile businesses, McDonald’s and Kellogg’s, as well as that agency’s U.S. Army business.
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More