MUMBAI: McCann Worldgroup has appointed Sean MacDonald as chief digital officer.

He joins from Ogilvy where he has been managing director, emerging ventures. MacDonald, who will be based in New York, succeeds Mike Parker who will be transitioning away from McCann opting to remain based in San Francisco.

“Sean's strategic background as well as his ability to integrate new digital capabilities to facilitate the way consumers interact with brands will help our clients to fully take advantage of the spectrum of changes in the marketplace. He has a deep understanding of the ways technology allows us to reach consumers, which will help us to accelerate our digital offering across our geographies and disciplines,” said McCann Worldgroup president Luca Lindner.

MacDonald has two decades of experience developing digital and engagement strategies for high profile companies. He joined Ogilvy as a senior digital strategist in 2004, and then rose to head the agency's digital and engagement strategy areas and later their Ventures initiative. 

Over the years, he has held senior posts at a series of digitally-focused companies, building digital strategy teams and tools, and designing creative digital and social programs for clients in every major category, including such global marketers as Coca-Cola, American Express, DuPont, Nestlé, Cisco and BP. 

“McCann is an exciting place, with vision and momentum and a culture that not only values collaboration but knows how to make it work on a global scale, across disciplines. I'm thrilled to be part of this team,” said MacDonald.