Nearly a year after parting ways with McCann, Robert LePlae has come back to the scene as he will now take on the role of global president at Arnold, effective Sept. 15. Yep, the headshot remains the same as it did over three years ago when LePlae joined McCann to lead up its North American operations after spending 11 years at TBWA\Chiat\Day. Once he takes his post at Arnold, LePlae will serve under global CEO/Havas CSO Andrew Benett and will split time between the agency’s Boston and New York offices.

In a statement, the new prez says, “It’s a perfect time to be joining the Arnold team. They have a great group of leaders who have done a wonderful job of delivering stellar results for a superior list of existing clients. With the recent addition of several high profile new clients there is tremendous momentum and opportunity to continue to grow the agency.” Arnold’s current client roster includes the likes of Dell, Volvo, Hershey, University of Phoenix and American Eagle Outfitters.

After spending two years as executive director, digital marketing solutions within Time, Inc.’s Branded Solutions division, Angela Wei is crossing back over to the agency side to assume the newly created chief digital officer role at ArnoldNYC. Wei, who has worked at the likes of Razorfish (senior producer) and FCB (VP, executive producer) during her 15-year digital media career, sounds like a welcome addition to the Arnold Worldwide family according to Andrew Benett. The agency’s CEO/Havas global CSO says in a statement, “Angela represents the best of both worlds. Someone who has worked in the advertising industry, yet also has vast digital and media experience. She knows how to foster innovative environments and how to integrate digital throughout the marketing experience.  She’s a huge win not only for Arnold’s New York office, but also for our global network.”

Once Wei steps into her chief digital officer role on Jan. 23, the exec will partner up with ArnoldNYC president Lynn Power and CCO John Staffen to expand the office’s digital/tech capabilities, and she’ll also join forces with Arnold global CDO Matt Howell to “devise and execute” the agency’s digital offering across the network.

Volvo and Arnold’s relationship, which dates back to April 2007, is going global as the automaker has now awarded the agency its U.K. and China business. SapientNitro, which previously handled the Volvo account in said countries, will still retain the Australia business while Euro RSCG 4D will remain on as lead digital agency. As a result of the automaker’s agency realignment, the “Team Volvo” model that was essentially a creative alliance between Arnold, Euro and SapientNitro, will be put to bed by year’s end.

Beginning in 2012, Arnold’s Amsterdam office, which opened last year, will take the lead on the Volvo account while global ECD Sean Thompson (who joined Arnold from 180 Amsterdam 15 months ago) and global brand director Jorian Murray will continue to manage.

Regarding the expanded partnership with Volvo, Andrew Bennett, Arnold’s global CEO and CSO of parent company Havas, says, “Over the last couple of years we’ve concentrated on growing our footprint globally and improving our work. This additional responsibility is a manifestation of that. It’s not only an honor to be able to represent one of the greatest brands in the world in more markets, it’s a testament to the amazing partnership we are fortunate to enjoy.”

Havas-owned agency network Arnold Worldwide continues its international expansion with the opening of its Shanghai branch (Amsterdam opened last year, lest we forget). From what they tell us, the launch of its Chinese office was spurred by being named global AOR for Dell, as well as global work for the Jack Daniel’s and Southern Comfort brands. All of sudden, we’re getting thirsty.

Anyhow, the office is starting out with 10 and expected to grow to 30 staffers by year’s end and Arnold’s global CEO/Havas global CSO Andrew Bennett couldn’t be more optimistic, saying, “Expanding into Asia has always been a part of Arnold’s micronetwork growth strategy, and after winning global assignments for a number of new clients, as well as extending our reach with existing clients, we’re thrilled to be opening in Shanghai—one of the most vibrant and vital markets in the world.”