-By Eleftheria Parpis

NEW YORK Josh Denberg and Paul Hirsch, formerly executive vice presidents, creative directors at Leo Burnett, Chicago, have joined McCann Worldgroup in San Francisco as senior vice presidents, group creative directors.
 
The team, which began working at McCann this week, oversees creative on all the agency's Microsoft business, except Xbox, which is managed by Scott Duchon and Geoff Edwards of the shop's T.A.G. unit. "Josh and Paul are widely recognized as one of the most talented creative teams in our industry," said Rob Bagot, evp, co-executive creative director at McCann. "They have consistently produced breakthrough work and we're thrilled that they will be joining us in San Francisco."
 
The hiring of Denberg and Hirsch comes on the heels of an exceptionally strong awards show season performance for the agency. McCann and T.A.G.'s campaign for Microsoft Xbox Halo 3, "Believe," won two Grand Prix awards at the Cannes International Advertising Festival this year, the Grandy at the International Andy Awards, Best of Show at The One Show and the Grand Clio at The Clio Awards, among other honors.
 
"Paul and Josh have a proven track record of success on some of the world's most respected brands," said Matt Ross, president of McCann Worldgroup S.F. and CEO of the agency's global Microsoft brands business. "They will be a tremendous asset for our clients and our senior leadership team as we continue to build on our recent momentum and further strengthen our offering for clients."
 
At Burnett, the team worked on Chef Boyardee, Cadillac, Washington Mutual and Coca-Cola, among other accounts. They joined the Chicago agency in 2002 after eight years at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, where they were associate creative directors and worked on Nike, Porsche, Cracker Jack, Discover Card, Turner Network Television, Specialized Bikes, Vail Resorts and Sega video games. (To see their work, click here.)

"McCann San Francisco's integrated model was especially appealing to us," said Denberg, 41, copywriter. "The combination of digital capabilities and award-winning work make this place unlike any other."

"It's the agency structure of the future," added Hirsch, 41, art director. "And we're looking forward to working with the team at McCann, Microsoft and a great roster of clients."