It took 27 years but Mike Buchner (pictured) has finally made it to the mountaintop, as the Fallon veteran has been appointed to the chief executive officer post at the Minneapolis agency. Buchner most recently served as COO and now replaces Chris Foster, who shifted titles within the Publicis fold and now serves as chairman/regional CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Asia Pacific.

The “Lovemarks” guru himself, Kevin Roberts, aka the chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon Group, says  Buchner “…is an outstanding communications professional who after several senior management roles at Fallon, segues naturally into the lead. Mike has been a pivotal player in the agency’s ‘A-list’ position and he will provide a formidable mix of stability, growth, and vision.”

Buchner joined Fallon right out of college back in ’84, moving from director of account management to GM to eventually COO. Guess loyalty pays off.