THENEWRATPACK - Strategy

THENEXTICONS
Mark Childs and Rob Guenette made the cut. Who else has what it takes?
Thank Frank Palmer. With the bold, gregarious, legendary adman at the
pesky retirement age, it got us thinking: Just who are the Frank Juniors?
Who are the wildly savvy, opinionated, charismatic marketing execs
and agency heads of tomorrow? The kind of person who would drop his
pants – with nary a fl inch when asked – and appear on the cover of our
magazine in yellow happy-faced boxer shorts as he so memorably did
in September 2004, but also have the smarts to build a stellar agency,
make waves in the industry, and become an icon in the process.
And who are the next Phil Donnes? He spent 15 years at Kellogg’s in
Canada and Europe (moving from VP marketing to president); made a
stop as president of Toronto’s Cossette; served as chair of the ACA and
is now in the top spot at Campbell’s – who has that kind of marketing
prowess to elevate brand equity to a top business concern?
So, with Frank and Phil serving as inspiration, we approached some of
the other best in the biz to get their personal picks on who they deem to
be the next icons.
Most you’ve heard of; others, perhaps not yet. Give it time, you will.
By Natalia Williams
THE ILLUSTRIOUS PANEL
We invited a mix of agency leaders and heads
of top-notch brands to provide a wide-ranging
view of who they think has the right stuff. In
addition to Palmer and Donne, who effectively
cover a traditional agency and a CPG, we
included the president of a media agency,
the head of a worldwide retail chain and the
CEO of a non-traditional agency to round
out the pack and share their views on who
best represents the passion, drive and vision
required to lead the way.
Frank Palmer, CEO/chairman, DDB Canada
Phil Donne, president, Campbell Canada
Annette Verschuren, president,
Home Depot Canada
Sunni Boot, president/CEO, ZenithOptimedia
Tony Chapman, president/CEO, Capital C
www.strategymag.com STRATEGY September 2006 41