Israel Diaz Named EVP, Chief Creative Officer of Young & Rubicam Toronto


TORONTO--(Marketwire - February 10, 2011) - Tony Granger, Global Chief Creative Officer of Young & Rubicam (http://yr.com), and Chris Jordan, President and CEO of Y&R Canada, announced today the appointment of Israel Diaz as EVP, Chief Creative Officer of Y&R's Toronto office. Diaz will partner with Jordan in a dual-leadership structure.

With over 16 years of industry experience in practically every category, Diaz will be responsible for overseeing creative on all Y&R's clients including: The Ford Motor Company of Canada, Pfizer Consumer Health Care, Colgate-Palmolive Canada, Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation, LG, and Hershey Canada.

"Chris and I clicked with Israel right away," said Granger. "Aside from his great background and experience, he has tremendous integrity and values. And most importantly, his passion for creating brilliant work is infectious."

A driven and well-respected creative leader, Diaz comes to Y&R from David&Goliath, where he helped start the Toronto office. While there, he served as Managing Partner and Executive Creative Director, overseeing the new office's memorable work for Kia Motors Canada.

Prior to D&G, Diaz served as Managing Partner, SVP, Creative Director of Leo Burnett Toronto, where, for five years he oversaw creative campaigns for top brands such as Visa, Kellogg's, Blackberry, Coca Cola Ltd, and Procter & Gamble. While there, he was ranked the #2 Top Creative Director in 2010 by Strategy Magazine and the #4 Creative Director globally by the 2009 Big Won Report.

Jordan said, "I'm thrilled that Israel is joining our strong team in Toronto and look forward to partnering with him to create brilliant world-class work for our clients."

Before that, Diaz gained invaluable experience as ACD for Lowe Roche and as Sr. Art Director for Cosette Communications, servicing clients such as McDonald's, General Mills, Nike, and Mercedes Benz. Throughout his career, he has earned numerous awards and accolades at Cannes, D&AD, Clios, One Show, London International and New York Festivals, among others. 

"It's a privilege to be joining Y&R at a time when the entire network is going through a creative renaissance," says Diaz. "This is a pivotal time in the agency's history as it reinvents itself to be nimbler and adaptable. I am very excited about the future of Y&R Toronto and being a part of it all."

About Young & Rubicam
Young & Rubicam is one of the world's leading marketing communications companies. Run by Global CEO David Sable and Global CCO Tony Granger, the agency's work spans the communications spectrum and reflects the transformation that digital has driven across all media. In 2010, Y&R was ranked among the Top Three global agency networks for creativity at the prestigious Cannes International Festival. Y&R's flagship New York agency was also named the #1 agency in the U.S. and #2 worldwide at Cannes. Y&R was awarded Network of the Year ranking by the Art Directors Club, the New York Festivals and the London International Awards.

Young & Rubicam has 186 offices in 90 countries around the world. Its clients are some of the world's most prestigious global brands, including Virgin Atlantic, Xerox, Accenture, Bacardi, Campbell's Soup Company, Colgate-Palmolive, Danone, GAP, Land Rover, MTV, LG and Telefonica, to name a few. For more information, visit www.yr.com.

Israel Diaz