Leadership Moves Point to New Priorities
A recent wave of executive appointments suggests brands and agencies are prioritizing leaders with hybrid experience. Ad Age is spotlighting senior moves at McCann, USAA, and Disney, while Brinker International promoted George Felix to CMO, whose career spans both agency and brand-side roles.
George Felix’s promotion at Brinker International to EVP, Chief Marketing Officer now puts him in charge of marketing for both Chili's and Maggiano's Little Italy. This move comes after his success as Chili's CMO since 2022, where his strategies contributed to Brinker's market capitalization increasing from $1.3 billion to $6.25 billion by March 2026. His career includes leading brand turnarounds and award-winning campaigns for major brands like Old Spice, KFC, and Pizza Hut. Felix's background, which includes roles as CMO at Tinder and brand management at Procter & Gamble, exemplifies the "hybrid" experience of holding senior roles on both the brand and agency sides. This dual perspective is increasingly valuable as companies seek leaders who understand the complexities of both client-side business objectives and agency-side creative execution. The trend reflects a broader industry shift where brands are building in-house creative capabilities while still relying on external agency partners for specialized skills. At Disney, recent leadership changes are setting the stage for a new era, with James P. Gorman named Chairman of the Board, effective January 2025, and a new CEO expected to be announced in early 2026. The company has been actively restructuring its Experiences segment, with Ken Potrock taking on a new role to integrate major events like the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and Thomas Mazloum becoming the new President of Disneyland Resort. These moves are part of a broader succession planning process as the company evaluates both internal and external candidates for top leadership positions. The emphasis on leaders with multifaceted experience is a response to the evolving marketing landscape where the lines between marketing and consulting are blurring. Companies are increasingly adopting hybrid models, combining in-house teams with external agencies to gain both brand intimacy and specialized creative power. This approach allows for more agile and scalable marketing operations, which is critical in a rapidly changing digital environment. A 2025 survey indicated that 36% of B2B companies were using a hybrid model, with that number expected to grow to 46% in 2026.
