Creative AdvertisingAccount Director
Milan-Based Global Account Director for an LA Agency Expanding Into Europe
A creative agency in Los Angeles needed an Account Director in Milan to run European client work independently. The managing director was based thousands of miles away, and the role required someone who could own the client relationship and make decisions without daily supervision.
The Client
A 12-person firm holds Agency of Record status with one of the world’s largest automakers. That partnership was expanded to European markets for the first time in January 2025. The team of four in Milan is all remote, and each person does both creative and client-facing work. The managing director is in L.A., and the team has no middle management.
The Challenge
The previous Account Director had left, and one of the team members had been covering the role. Already, there were a number of campaigns underway, and there was no one in the European office who was fully responsible for client relationships.
The client needed the role filled. It was set up as a freelance contractor arrangement under Italian law rather than a direct employment contract, and the candidate had to be fluent in both Italian and English. The right profile was someone used to owning account work end to end, not someone from a large network agency, where that work is funneled through layers of team support
The managing director needed somebody in Milan who could own the client end-to-end and make decisions independently. That combination of language requirements, contract structure, and full-service accountability limited the pool of realistic candidates.
The Solution
The search focused primarily on account directors at advertising agencies in Italy, while only considering those who spoke both languages. Candidates from large network agencies were set aside as those environments gave account directors more team support than this role could provide.
Several candidates went through multiple rounds of interviews with the managing director and other agency leadership. There were two solid finalists. The managing director then moved to an offer after a fourth interview with his preferred candidate.
The successful candidate had worked his way up through the ranks of small Italian ad agencies, where account directors have to do everything from the brief to the final delivery. He spoke Italian and English fluently, and his background was exactly what the job called for.
The Results
Interviews started in mid-March, and by mid-April the managing director had made his choice. They offered €60,000, the candidate negotiated it to €65,000, and requested to be named the Global Account Director, which was agreed upon. Background checks went through no problem, and the start date was confirmed within the week.
Keller Executive Search confirmed the appointment eight weeks after the search was opened, with the candidate in the role by May 4, 2026. The final salary of €65,000 was below the range provided by the client, but this was because of the candidate’s own expectations and not because the client had a lower ceiling.
The Impact
When the agency brought its largest client relationship to European markets, several campaigns were already underway before the seat was filled. The Account Director position was the only thing standing between the European team and a managing director thousands of miles away. In a remote team of four with no management layer, their is noone accountable for decisions that are not made. There was a need to hire someone who could own the client relationship in its entirety, not someone who was used to passing things along. The incoming Account Director was the right fit for that structure, coming from a background at smaller agencies where the brief and delivery belong to the same person.
Inquiry Sent
Latest Insights
