Neal Arthur has been promoted to managing director of W+K New York . Arthur replaces longtime managing director Buz Sawyer, who left the agency last month, and will partner with executive creative director Kevin Proudfoot to lead the office.

In a move that now sees people named Neil or Neal running two of Wieden + Kennedy's seven offices, Neal Arthur has been promoted to managing director of W+K
New York . Arthur replaces longtime managing
director Buz Sawyer, who left the agency last month, and will partner with
executive creative director Kevin Proudfoot to lead the office.

 “The interest in this job
has been intense, both within the W+K network and outside the agency. But at
the end of the day, the best solution was right here in the New York office. I couldn’t
be more excited to announce that, effective today, Neal Arthur will be our MD
in New York,” commented Dave Luhr, W+K global chief
operating officer. “In my mind, Neal represents what
future leaders in this industry will look like. He is dead smart, hugely
connected, multifunctional and full of action.”   

Arthur joined
W+K NY in 2005 as the director of strategic planning, where he’s applied his
impressive range of experiences to develop new business opportunities and
engage clients within the agency.  

“There is an exceptional
amount of talent and energy within W+K NY. I’m incredibly excited to help
this office become more progressive, more dynamic and build a stronger presence
within New York’s creative
community,”
said Arthur.

Prior     to W+K NY, Arthur was a senior
brand strategist for the brand and innovation consultancy Redscout. There he
was responsible for stewarding product development from concept to distribution
for brands within the Diageo and Pepsi-Cola families. Before
Redscout, Arthur worked at Fallon where he experimented with ways to bridge the worlds of
entertainment, advertising and interactive to create breakthrough marketing
approaches that transcend traditional media channels. 

Arthur has
worked on innovative film initiatives for BMW and Amazon.com in addition to
brand work for Lee Jeans, Earl Jean, Holiday Inn, Orville Redenbacher’s,
Timberland and Sports Illustrated.

Previously,
Arthur was a planning consultant for W+K’s Portland office, where he worked on
a variety of consumer brands, as well as for The Curious Company, a strategy
and research studio focused on investigating consumer behavior and cultural
trends.

Neal's shoes, recently.