Sean Lackey has joined McCann North America as chief growth officer, a new regional position.
Lackey most recently was head of business development at Droga5 where he was key to driving significant growth across new clients and capabilities resulting in $120MM+ in new business revenue over the last four years. Prior to joining Droga5 in 2013, he held both business development and client management roles on a wide variety of accounts at BBDO for five years. He had also previously worked in account management at Interpublic Group’s Gotham, Inc.
“Sean has an infectious energy and a great track record of attracting clients and delivering business growth,” said Chris Macdonald, president of McCann Worldgroup North America. “We are delighted that he is joining us as we further develop our North American network and offerings for clients.”
“I have always believed that creativity is a business driver for our client partners,” said Lackey. “The McCann agencies across the region and beyond are unified by this purpose, delivering at the top of their game both creatively and strategically.”
Creatively, McCann North America this year repeated for the second straight year as the most awarded North American agency at the Cannes Lions festival. while McCann New York also moved up 12 spots to become the No. 1 agency at the 2017 North American Effies. McCann was named North America’s “Regional Agency of the Year” at the New York Festivals International Advertising Awards, and McCann New York this year was named “Agency of the Year” at multiple awards shows, including the Clios, the One Show, the ANDYs, and the ADC (Art Directors Club). At the same time, McCann over the last few years has added major client assignments in North America, including from HomeGoods, MGM Resorts, Bombardier, Verizon, Reckitt Benckiser, Coca-Cola, Mastercard, and Chevrolet.
Hwang Dong-hyuk On Season 2 of “Squid Game,” Wrapping Production on Season 3; What’s Next?
Viewers may gasp, cringe or cry out watching characters die on Netflix's "Squid Game," but those simulated deaths have a different effect on its creator, writer and director. Instead, Hwang Dong-hyuk feels happiness seeing them go.
The show has a huge cast and Hwang says it was "really difficult" to manage everyone on set.
As characters would die, Hwang recalls saying to the actors on their last day, "'Oh no! How sad! I won't see you tomorrow,' but I was always smiling inside."
"Squid Game" season two premieres Thursday. It once again stars Lee Jung-jae and centers around a secret competition in South Korea that targets people in debt and the winner gets a big cash prize. What they don't know is that losing the game is deadly.
Hwang originally conceived of the show 15 years ago as a two-hour film but it failed to gain traction with financiers or even interested actors. He put it aside and worked on other films instead. He then had the idea to make it a TV series instead and took the project to Netflix. There, it could reach a wide audience.
"I never in my wildest dream thought it was going to be this huge," said Hwang, who spoke about the show and what comes next. Answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Q: What have you learned from "Squid Game"?
HWANG: I learned that I shouldn't give up. If you love something and if you want to create something, it might not work now, but the time might come later. Or that idea could be the source of inspiration for something else.
Q: You've already finished filming season three of "Squid Game." Have you thought about what your next project will be?
HWANG: I'm afraid to talk... Read More