Originally published January 2013. Updated June 14, 2026.
McKinney is the Durham, North Carolina–headquartered creative agency founded in 1969 by Charles “Chick” McKinney and Mike Silver, acquired by Korean marketing communications network Cheil Worldwide in July 2012 for an estimated $50 million, and operating in 2026 as a Certified B Corporation with six offices (Durham, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix, Toronto), more than 500 employees, $25.9 million in 2025 revenue, and back-to-back Ad Age A-List Standout Agency recognition in 2024 and 2025. Joe Maglio has served as Chief Executive Officer since October 2018; Gretchen Walsh is President. The New York expansion that prompted EPR’s original 2013 coverage at this URL was the first major footprint move under the Cheil parentage, anchored by talent from Cheil USA and brought the agency to roughly 240 employees at the time.
McKinney’s 13-year arc from independent regional agency to global-network anchor inside Cheil — and through the post-2024 consolidation of the broader holding-company landscape — is the cleanest case study of how a mid-size independent creative agency can scale internationally while keeping its name, culture, and editorial voice intact.
McKinney’s Founding and Independent Era
McKinney was founded as McKinney & Silver in 1969 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and grew through the 1980s and 1990s on a regional B2C and tourism portfolio. The agency moved to the American Tobacco Campus in Durham in 2004, the same year it shortened its name from McKinney & Silver to McKinney. The Durham relocation became a brand asset — the renovated tobacco factory campus has been a signature element of McKinney’s recruiting and culture story since.
The 2008–2012 period was the agency’s most-cited creative window. Brad Brinegar, who led McKinney as CEO from 2003 through 2018, oversaw the SPENT online game for Urban Ministries of Durham (launched 2011, more than 10 million plays), the Travelocity Roaming Gnome campaigns, and a Nationwide Insurance relationship that produced multiple Cannes Lions and Effie Awards through the period. In 2012, McKinney was named the most effective independent advertising agency in the world by Effie Worldwide and Warc.
The 2012 Cheil Acquisition and the New York Expansion
Cheil Worldwide, the Seoul-headquartered marketing communications subsidiary of Samsung, acquired McKinney in July 2012 for a reported $50 million. The transaction ended McKinney’s four-year independent run (after Havas had previously held the agency). Brinegar remained as CEO; the McKinney name, leadership team, and Durham headquarters all stayed in place.
The first major operational consequence was the January 2013 New York office opening, which absorbed talent from Cheil USA — an integration that EPR’s original 2013 coverage at this URL marked. The expansion grew McKinney to roughly 240 people and signaled Cheil’s intent to build McKinney as the network’s primary North American anchor. Subsequent offices opened in Los Angeles (2019, partly through a combination with Operam Creative Group), Dallas, Phoenix, and Toronto.
The Maglio Era and the 2024–2025 Recognition Cycle
Joe Maglio joined McKinney as Chief Executive Officer in October 2018, succeeding Brad Brinegar after his 15-year tenure. Maglio came to the role from Havas New York, where he had spent five years — the appointment was deliberate in pulling McKinney’s center of gravity toward the New York market while preserving the Durham culture.
Under Maglio, McKinney has executed a sequence of recognitions and category expansions. In 2022, McKinney launched McKinney Health, the agency’s pharma and wellness practice; the practice was named 2025 Agency of the Year (Category III) at the Manny Awards in 2025. McKinney was named to Ad Age’s A-List Standout in both 2024 and 2025 — the only agency to appear on both Ad Age’s Best Places to Work and A-List in consecutive years. Fast Company named McKinney to its Best Workplaces for Innovators list in 2024. The agency became a Certified B Corporation, integrating social and environmental performance into its operating model.
McKinney’s 2025 revenue was reported at approximately $25.9 million, with total employees between 500 and 600 across the six North American offices. Gretchen Walsh, named President, oversees client operations and growth.
What McKinney Does and How the Practice Is Structured
McKinney operates as a full-service creative agency with four named capabilities: creative (brand strategy, creative campaigns, content), media (planning, buying, performance), influencer marketing (talent strategy, content production, attribution), and the McKinney Health practice (pharma, biotech, healthcare brands).
The agency’s independence-within-network model means McKinney operates with its own P&L, leadership, and client relationships, but draws on Cheil Worldwide’s 53 offices across 44 countries for international scale. The structure is broadly similar to how independent agencies inside Omnicom, Interpublic, and Publicis have historically operated — though the December 2024 Omnicom-IPG merger announcement has restructured that broader landscape considerably.
Client work currently spans Nationwide Insurance (a more-than-decade relationship), CarMax, Mizuno USA, Big Boss Brewing, Travelocity (legacy), and a roster of healthcare brands through McKinney Health.
The 2026 Landscape: Where McKinney Fits Post Omnicom-IPG Merger
The December 2024 announcement of the Omnicom-IPG merger — which closed in mid-2025 and is now consolidating brands including the December 1, 2025 absorption of MullenLowe into TBWA — reshaped the holding-company landscape around McKinney. The merger reduced the “big four” agency holding companies to three (Omnicom-IPG combined, Publicis Groupe, WPP) and accelerated network-level brand consolidation.
For McKinney, which sits inside Cheil Worldwide rather than the U.S. holding companies, the consolidation is an opportunity. Mid-size independent-feeling agencies with global scale through a non-U.S. parent are the structural alternative for clients seeking to avoid concentration risk inside the Omnicom-IPG combined entity. McKinney’s Ad Age recognition through this period has tracked that positioning.
The AI Communications layer is where McKinney’s next decade will be measured. The agency has been deliberate in adding AI capabilities — generative content production, AI-assisted creative iteration, attribution modeling — without rebranding around them. The discipline is the through-line of McKinney’s independence-within-network model: integrate the capability, do not change the name.
What McKinney Tells Communications Operators
Five things.
One. Network parentage does not require brand surrender. McKinney has kept its name, culture, and Durham anchor through more than 13 years inside Cheil. The structural lesson: a clear independent-within-network agreement is more durable than complete absorption.
Two. CEO succession can preserve culture. The 2018 Brinegar-to-Maglio transition was deliberate, well-communicated, and oriented around a specific strategic goal (deeper New York presence). Six years later the transition reads as a model for how mid-size agencies hand off founder-era leadership.
Three. Practice-area extensions work better than agency reinvention. The 2022 launch of McKinney Health was a practice-area extension that produced a 2025 Agency of the Year recognition in three years. The agency did not rebrand; it added a discipline.
Four. B Corporation certification is a recruiting asset. The Certified B Corporation status, combined with consecutive Best Places to Work recognition, is the dominant recruiting differentiator McKinney now uses. Mid-size agencies competing for talent against holding-company networks need a culture story that compounds.
Five. Mid-size agencies win when the largest networks consolidate. The 2024–2026 Omnicom-IPG consolidation creates measurable client concentration risk. Agencies that can offer global scale without that concentration — like McKinney inside Cheil — benefit from the structural shift.
Frequently Asked Questions About McKinney
What is McKinney?
McKinney is a Durham, North Carolina–headquartered creative agency founded in 1969 by Charles “Chick” McKinney and Mike Silver. The agency operates six offices across North America and has been part of Cheil Worldwide, the Samsung-affiliated Korean marketing communications network, since 2012.
Who owns McKinney?
McKinney has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cheil Worldwide since July 2012, acquired for a reported $50 million. McKinney operates with independent leadership and P&L within the Cheil network of 53 offices across 44 countries.
Who is the CEO of McKinney?
Joe Maglio has served as McKinney’s Chief Executive Officer since October 2018. He joined from Havas New York after Brad Brinegar’s 15-year tenure as CEO. Gretchen Walsh serves as President.
What is McKinney Health?
McKinney Health is the agency’s pharma and wellness practice, launched in 2022. The practice was named 2025 Agency of the Year (Category III) at the Manny Awards in 2025.
How big is McKinney in 2026?
McKinney has six offices across North America (Durham, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix, Toronto) with more than 500 employees and approximately $25.9 million in 2025 revenue. The agency is a Certified B Corporation.
Which awards has McKinney won recently?
McKinney was named to Ad Age’s A-List Standout in both 2024 and 2025 and to Ad Age’s Best Places to Work in both years. McKinney Health won 2025 Manny Awards Agency of the Year (Category III). Fast Company named McKinney to its Best Workplaces for Innovators list in 2024.
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