Sean MacDonald

SEAN MACDONALD
Global Chief Digital Officer
McCann Worldgroup

As Global Chief Digital Officer at McCann Worldgroup, Sean oversees the marketing communications company’s digital strategy and operations in more than 100 countries around the world. He leads these agency teams in developing a full array of digital marketing solutions, including social, platform development, mobile, commerce, search, and analytics. His digital marketing expertise spans two decades and includes key roles both at agencies and as a digital entrepreneur.
When Sean arrived at McCann Worldgroup in 2015, he was charged with putting digital at the center of all companies, geographies and platforms. This has now included establishing such innovations as our Human Tech offering, which focuses on combining the technology and start-up ecosystem with agency talent in design thinking oriented processes; a LIVE Social methodology, which ensures best-of-breed social capabilities across the global agency network; our Decoding thought leadership series; and our PXL digital training programs for Agencies, Business Leaders and Clients. He had previously been at Ogilvy as Managing Director of Emerging Ventures for North America. In that role, he oversaw the strategies and sourcing of potential leading capabilities across mobile, social, platforms and commerce. In a prior position heading Ogilvy’s Engagement Strategy team, he led the development of innovative strategies that spanned website, email, tele, sales, mobile, social and offline channels. These strategic projects included informational and transactional site re-launches, product launches, campaign launches, customer acquisition and loyalty programs, social media programs, site consolidation, globalization and governance.
Sean’s broad background, which has enabled him to create brand experiences full of meaning and wonder, also includes time spent as a documentary film director (whose film about eunuchs in India was included in international film festivals) and as the founder of a macrobiotic cooking school. Additionally, prior to his 11 years at Ogilvy, he was a founding partner of VietnamWorks, which became the largest recruiter in Vietnam. Earlier in his career he worked in online marketing at AGENCY.COM, where he built out the e-commerce strategy for Gucci, one of the first luxury brands to sell online, and at kirshenbaum bond senecal + partners.
Sean holds a Master of Arts in Religious Studies from the University of Chicago, where he focused on South Asian Mysticism. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the California Institute of Integral Studies and is an alumnus of Vassar College.