Michael McConville has wrapped up with Cummins & Partners after just over two years as the indie creative agency’s chief executive.

Agency founder and chief creative officer Sean Cummins confirmed McConville had left the business four weeks ago, though declined to comment further. It is not yet clear whether the role will be replaced.

For his part, McConville said he was leaving the business on a positive note. 

“We can say that after a huge two years, we achieved a lot and put some great people in there who I’m proud to have worked with," he told Mi3. McConville did not confirm whether he had a new role lined up.

The outgoing CEO was appointed to helm Cummins&Partner's Sydney, Melbourne and New York offices in mid-2022, returning to Australia to take up the role after nine years in the UK across leadership roles at WCRS/Engine and Adam&EveDDB.

He had outlined big plans to put creative effectiveness and media mix modelling via Mutinex at the heart of the business's model, last year outlining an ambition to use econometrics to prove the rules set out by the likes of Binet & Field, Mark Ritson and Byron Sharp actually work. If he could do that, said McConville, marketers would no longer need to talk marketing metrics to CFOs, but hard growth numbers – and be able to accurately forecast what their investments would deliver in sales terms, with fees set commensurately on demonstrable growth outcomes.

How far the agency managed to implement that model is open to question. But at least it tried.

Cummins and goings

McConville had filled the gap left vacant by Kirsty Muddle after her stint as the agency’s boss before the 10-year Cummins stalwart defected for the top job at Dentsu Creative Group (now Dentsu Creative). She was one of several agency partners exit during the same period, with McConville's appointment having marked a new era for the independent shop, per Sean Cummins.

"The last couple of years saw a wholesale exit of many of my partners, who had in their own ways reached existential moments. They absolutely gave the agency their best and we reached amazing heights. But they had their run. This was a great opportunity, one that rarely happens in a business like ours, where we could replace the top tier with new people. Let’s face it, a healthy tree is pruned from the top," he suggested at the time.

McConville made headway on rebuilding the senior ranks, making key hires including VML’s Katherine Chen as Sydney GM, Special’s Sarah Raine as Melbourne GM, and Adam&EveDDB’s Louis Lunts as New York GM. Earlier this year, Connecting Plot’s Tim Collier was added to the leadership mix as strategy partner.

McConville’s exit comes as the local creative scene faces the latest wave of upheaval as some major accounts move and more come into review amid a market grappling with ongoing margin and business model pressure.

Headhunters are understood to be actively recruiting for a leader to helm at least one of the market's major creative agencies.