MullenLowe is making changes to its U.S. leadership nearly one year after Kristen Cavallo took over as the IPG agency’s global CEO.

Kelly Fredrickson, formerly the president of MullenLowe East—its offices in New York and Boston—is taking on the newly created role of chief culture officer. Jordan Muse will be joining the agency as president of MullenLowe East. And Javier Passerieu, previously a managing director, is being promoted to president of MullenLowe West, a new position at the agency’s Los Angeles office.

Cavallo confirmed she is also looking to announce a new U.S. CEO to help lead the market alongside her. The leadership changes come four months after the agency network launched a rebrand including a new octopus logo. The goal is to get more attention and recognition for the 4,500-person network among what Cavallo said is a quick and competitive news cycle for brands and agencies.

“My hope for this agency is that they get seen above the noise,” Cavallo said. “I don’t know if that has been as true in the past few years as I think it deserves to be.”

“The offices operated in the past more independently and now we’re working hard to have them feel more connected and more a part of one brand, which is MullenLowe,” Cavallo said. “That doesn’t mean that they won’t have their own clients and pitch independently, but it also means that we can pull from all of our resources to support any brand pitch or any brand client. We are going to do a lot more things together.”

Cavallo said it was important for her to award employees who had been working at the agency even if that meant creating a new role, as in Fredrickson’s case. Fredrickson, among other internal initiatives that she leads, helped launch the agency’s “Momternships” program last year, which is dedicated to helping mothers get into the advertising workforce.

“I think oftentimes job titles can be limiting,” Cavallo said. “Many people in advertising tend to be ambidextrous and have really transferable skills. I’ve met with all the leaders and spent time thinking, what are they great at and when [do] their eyes light up?”

Cavallo said this is similar to her philosophy in leading The Martin Agency. In 2018, Cavallo promoted Carmina Oriz Drummond to a chief culture title role there, and last year, Tasha Dean took on a newly created role as chief revenue officer after previously working as an exec VP, head of production.

The moves provide clarity among leadership and make it easier to collaborate across offices, Cavallo said.

On the West Coast, Passerieu will continue to lead accounts such as Constellation, Acura and Bacardi.

Fredrickson’s move left an opening for a MullenLowe East Coast president.

Muse previously served as an executive partner, head of account management at The Martin Agency, where he has been for the past five years following a decade at Wieden+Kennedy. He will move from Richmond, Virginia, to New York.

Muse will continue to lead the Geico account at Martin as an executive partner and will oversee MullenLowe’s relationship with the brand. MullenLowe became a social partner for the insurer earlier this year after IPG Mediabrands won the company’s media account, Cavallo confirmed. Muse’s head of accounts role at the Martin Agency will now be handled by Walker Teele.

Muse will also work alongside Tim Vaccarino, executive creative director, and Ellie Gogan-Tilstone, head of strategy, on clients such as KFC, Navy Federal Credit Union, USGA, E-Trade, Scotts, Bayer and Banner Health.

Muse, who has worked on clients such as Old Spice, Nike, and Buffalo Wild Wings, was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Achievement in 2022, the same year his father, Jo Muse, was inducted into its Hall of Fame. Jo Muse, an advertising pioneer, died in April.