Dubliner to head up advertising agency BBDO’s US operation

Advertising agency BBDO has appointed Dublin-native St John Walshe as chief executive of its American operations.

Mr Walshe will relocate to New York next year after more than five years leading most of BBDO’s agencies in Europe.

He first joined the BBDO team in 1997 as an account executive on M&M’s. For the last 13 years, he has been the global lead on Mars, helping to grow it into one of BBDO’s largest clients.

In his new role, Mr Walshe will oversee dozens of agencies throughout the US, Canada and Latin America, working with a range of local, regional and global clients.

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BBDO Worldwide president Andrew Robertson said Mr Walshe has “shown himself to be an exceptional people picker, talent developer and team builder”.

A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Mr Walshe is a board member of BBDO Worldwide and Omnicom Europe. He is also a founding partner of the Lions Share, a charitable foundation in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme.