Sources close to the hip confirm that Brian McDermott, who was appointed as chief creative officer of Dentsu America last June, is leaving the agency. We haven’t been given a timetable for McDermott’s departure, but we’ve been told that the exec is moving out of the New York area. McDermott (pictured) was initially promoted to his CCO post a year ago after spending a year as managing director/ECD at McGarryBowen, which of course operates under the ever-growing Dentsu West umbrella.

Prior to his Dentsu relationship, McDermott worked as a creative director and GCD at Y&R and McCann Erickson, respectively. Spies allege that Dentsu is eyeing Paul Bernasconi, who sold his Oasis International Group to the Japan-based network over a decade ago, as McDermott’s successor. We’ve reached out to Dentsu to get some clarification on the matter. Stay tuned…