UM’s Dino Laurena retires after 18 years in McCann

THE PHILIPPINES, NOVEMBER 14, 2011: Dino Laurena, managing director of Universal McCann in the Philippines, formally announces his decision to retire after 18 years in McCann Worldgroup Philippines. Laurena’s announcement comes on the heels of his 50th birthday, which he says presents a golden opportunity to pursue his other life dreams. His retirement takes effect on January 1, 2012. 

 

“Fulfilled at 50 – that had always been in my bucket list, and now I am happy to say that I was able to accomplish that and more. I am very grateful to McCann for giving me the opportunity to build a wonderful career – one that covers stints in McCann Erickson, UM and Harrison – and now allowing me to pursue my other life dreams and possibly a new career direction until I decide to fully retire”, says Laurena.

 

Laurena’s McCann Erickson career started in 1993 when his excellent leadership skills brought business success to clients Del Monte, Citibank, Nissan and Levi’s. When Harrison Communications was put up in 1996 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of McCann, Laurena was one of the pioneering founders, and was eventually named managing partner. He is credited for his crucial role in growing Harrison and nurturing successful partnerships with URC, Globe and Unilab.  

 

In 2009, Laurena was appointed managing director of UM, and led the critical transformation of the team that resulted in the rebuilding of the agency’s suite of media offerings which enable UM to better serve clients. Under Laurena’s leadership, UM handled the full media AOR assignments for Johnson & Johnson, Globe, BPI and Jollibee Foods Corporation.

 

Meanwhile, UM continues to upgrade its investments advantage as new tools and systems are rolled out.  Early this year, Alvin Bangay was named Deputy Managing Director concurrent to his duties as Investments and Operations Director. According to Laurena, “Alvin has been key in the re-engineering of our investment offering and has shown excellent leadership in the many aspects of UM’s operations. He will continue to play a key role as UM moves forward”.

 

Bangay is a seasoned media leader who immediately impacted on UM operations since joining in 2009. His career traces back to Basic Advertising and JWT, where he was part of the team that launched WPP Mindshare Philippines. At Mindshare, Bangay handled various regional and local accounts like Ford Motor, Shell Petroleum, IBM and oversaw the media AOR assignment for Warner-Lambert/Pfizer. In 2003, he moved to Zenith Optimedia to lead the Nestle account where McCann spotted his talent while working with him as one of Nestle’s club agencies. 

 

Prior to joining UM, Bangay took a detour for a year to become General Manager of Euro Asia Media Group, the production company that created and produced branded content shows “Camera Café” and “U Women”, aired in GMA 7 and QTV 11. 

 

Of Laurena’s decision to retire, McCann Worldgroup President & COO Nandy Villar says, “I am very happy for Dino, who has been a long time colleague and a personal friend. 50 is a milestone age and somehow 18 years is too, because that’s supposed to be the age of maturity. As Dino leaves his McCann family and moves on to the next phase of his life and his career, I wish him all the best and excitement that are yet to come. And I thank him, in behalf of McCann Worldgroup.”