McKinney

TOTAL NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
Office Employees	101-200
Total US	101-200
Total Worldwide	500+
Discretionary Comments:
McKinney operates as an independent affiliate within the Seoul, South Korean-based Cheil Worldwide Network, giving us access to 53 offices in 44 countries.

BIOS

Joe Maglio, Chief Executive Officer

Joe became CEO in October of 2018 — the ﬁfth CEO in McKinney’s 52-year history (and the ﬁrst to live outside of our Durham HQ by way of Connecticut). Since then, the agency has enjoyed new partnerships with Pampers, Little Caesars, Netflix, Choice Hotels, ESPN, People’s United Bank, Stop & Shop, and others. Prior to McKinney, Joe was managing director at Havas NY, where he oversaw a portfolio of clients across packaged goods, ﬁnancial services, travel, and food & beverage. He has also held leadership roles at agencies such as Publicis and Ogilvy. Other ventures include founding a food concept in Yankee Stadium, ﬁlm production, angel investing and charitable work, speciﬁcally serving on the advisory board of the NYC organization Hoodies for the Homeless.

Jonathan Cude, Chief Creative Officer

For more than a decade, Jonathan’s creative leadership has set the standard for McKinney’s purpose to discover and unleash the untapped potential in our world. His impact can be felt throughout the agency, from the people he hires to the work he inspires. Under his leadership, McKinney has created big ideas leading to growth for brands like ESPN, Samsung, Audi, Sony, Sherwin-Williams, Little Caesars, Pampers, and Travelocity. His teams have won every major award, including Cannes Lions, One Show, Clios, ANDYs, D&AD, and Effies. Jonathan came to McKinney in 2003 from Wieden+Kennedy, where he worked on Diet Coke and Nike, writing the humorous “Streaker” spot — named Creativity’s runner-up for ad of the year — and “Before,” voted one of Wieden’s 12 best ads ever.

Jasmine Dadlani, Chief Strategy Officer

Jasmine joined McKinney in early 2018 as Director of Strategy before being promoted to Chief Strategy Officer in late 2020. Her strategic insights have led McKinney to Little Caesars, Pampers, People's United Bank, and Stop & Shop wins. In her 20-plus years in the business, Jasmine has worked at some of the best strategic and creative agencies, including Chiat\Day, Arnold, Deutsch, and Cramer-Krasselt. She has driven successful brand and business growth for a diverse range of clients, including Domino’s, Yellowtail Wine, Kraft, IKEA, Patrón, and Nikon. Her inspiration for consumer insights comes from a myriad of sources — from observations on the subway to the field of behavioral psychology. Although not a cook, she loves all things food, and for over a decade has served as a guest lecturer for the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City.

Gretchen Walsh, Chief Client Officer

Gretchen has spent her career helping design, successfully launch, and nurture ideas at some of the most creative shops in the business. Her experience covers brands such as Levi’s, Coors, HP, MTV, eBay, Hotwire, Nationwide Financial, E*TRADE, Adobe, and Choice Hotels. After starting her career in San Francisco at FCB and Goodby, Gretchen joined The Martin Agency. In 2004, she joined McKinney, spending time honing her skills in media, strategy, and account management before being named chief client officer late last year. Gretchen’s role is to identify opportunities with our clients to generate growth for their brands. It is fair to say more than a few of those opportunities have been thought up on weekend marathon training runs. Gretchen serves as a Girls on the Run coach and is an active volunteer for PORCH, a grassroots hunger-relief organization in Chapel Hill.

Chandra Guinn, Executive Director, D, E, & I

Chandra joined McKinney from Duke University, where she was Director of the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture. In that role, she provided leadership and direction while also curating Black intellectual, cultural, and historical offerings, helping cultivate young people prepare to change the world. At McKinney, she helps create greater diversity, enhance belonging, and provide clarity around systems to ensure that equity is experienced at every level of the agency. Chandra received her B.A. from Bucknell University and a master’s degree from the UNC at Chapel Hill in sociology. Other than working to change the world, Chandra enjoys cooking, playing with her six-and-a-half-pound Yorkie, Max, traveling, and listening to podcasts.

Swapnil Patel, Executive Director, Media

Over the past 19 years, Swap and his teams have managed the complex media needs of brands across numerous categories, from brands that spend hundreds of millions in broadcast inventory, like Domino’s, Nationwide, and Lowe’s Home Improvement, to those that rely more heavily on digital media, like Sherwin-Williams, PopSockets, and Crocs. He joined McKinney in 2012, coming from CP+B, where he spent almost nine years working alongside in-house creatives, strategists, and account leaders. Swap is an ardent believer in the creative power of media and loves connecting ideas to new and emerging media platforms. Swap is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan.

Jenny Nicholson, Executive Director, Brand Experience

Jenny spent her childhood in the woods of Tennessee with no running water and no electricity. What her upbringing lacked in television or convenient showers, it made up in opportunities to develop her imagination. With no formal education in advertising, she’s worked her way from proofreader to Executive Director, Brand Experience. From award-winning games to Chrome extensions to social-first campaigns, her work always leads with a big idea, though you can never quite predict how she’ll bring it to life. She’s gotten props from Cannes, D&AD, the One Show, the Clios, FWA, and the Webby Awards. Business Insider called her one of the 25 most creative people in advertising, the 4As and ADWEEK called her one of the 100 People Making Advertising Great, and her kid calls "MOMMMMMMY!" once every .42 seconds.

Walt Barron, Managing Director

Walt joined McKinney in 2005 as an account planner from McGarrah Jessee after being a Capitol Hill reporter during the Clinton years. He brought experience working on brands like Whataburger, Zatarain’s, and Shiner Beer. From 2015 through 2021 he served as Chief Strategy Officer where he brought insight and ideas to our clients with a collaborative and humble approach to iconic brands like ESPN, fast-moving technology companies like Samsung, and complex retail operations like Choice Hotels. In 2021, Walt was named Managing Director where he will continue to deliver his thoughtful insights to both prospective clients and the McKinney teams. Walt is a native of the Volunteer state and a graduate of Davidson College and the VCU Brandcenter.