Following the recent win of Kellanova brands Cheez-It, Pringles, Rice Krispies Treats, and Eggo, FCB New York is announcing the brands’ leadership team, spotlighting new hires Dan Kelly as executive creative director; Drew Halpern as SVP, group account director; and Nayantara Mukherji as SVP, group strategy director.
“The chance to work on these iconic brands is a tremendous opportunity to carve out a killer team of wildly creative and results-driven minds who will not only shape the brands, but also the culture of the agency as a whole,” says FCB New York CCO Michael Aimette. “I’m kinda in awe of each of them, and I can’t wait to see what they do together.”
The trio unites around a shared creative ambition with Kellanova to accelerate the brand portfolio growth and support the company on its journey to becoming a global snacking powerhouse. Together, they are building a team culture that encourages both outstanding work and fun along the way. Drew Halpern adds, “FCB New York was chosen for the strategic and creative calibre we brought to the pitch, but also the shared vision of how to build a truly collaborative partnership.”
The teams are working at full speed to develop brand campaigns for the first quarter of 2025 for Cheez-It, Pringles, and Rice Krispies Treats. “There’s nothing more exciting than when an iconic brand expresses a desire to do big things. That’s when you work the hardest and make the greatest impact on the business,” highlights Nayantara Mukherjii. Adds Dan Kelly, “I think about snacks all the time anyway, so I might as well get paid for it.”
More about the new hires
Dan Kelly is an award-winning creative leader with experience across a wide range of brands, including Mountain Dew, Pepsi, Twix, Lowe’s, the NFL, CA Lottery, Kia, and Carl’s Jr. Prior to joining FCB New York, he led creative teams at Droga5, where he worked on brands like Bosch, Paramount+, IHOP - for which he won two Gold Effies and two Lions, among other awards - as well as Johnsonville and Sprint.
Naya Mukherji was most recently head of brand strategy at Madwell, where she led work for clients such as e.l.f. Cosmetics and Visible by Verizon. Before that, she spent seven years at Saatchi & Saatchi, overseeing strategy for P&G’s Fabric Care portfolio, which includes iconic brands like Bounce, Gain and Tide. During this time, the 'It’s a Tide Ad' campaign was awarded a Global Best of the Best Effie, a Grand Effie, and a Titanium at Cannes Lions.
Drew Halpern joined FCB New York in January to help lead the Kellanova creative review across IPG agencies globally. Prior to this, she held positions at Mischief, Terri & Sandy, and Ogilvy, working with iconic brands like Gerber, Ferrero Rocher, Keebler, Avon, Molson Coors, and UPS to build powerful creative solutions that achieved business results. She has collected numerous awards throughout her career, including being a Grand Effie finalist and a six-time Effie winner.