Cheil North America is rethinking the agency model. The Samsung-owned group today announced the launch of the Cheil Agency Network (CAN), a North American consortium uniting five of its independently operated shops into a flexible alternative to the traditional holding company structure.

The lineup includes McKinney (creative), Iris (creative), Attention Arc (media), CYLNDR Studios (production), and Barbarian (digital and tech). Together, they span 10 offices across the U.S. and Canada, with 750 employees and a client roster featuring brands like Samsung, Little Caesars, Popeyes, Bentley, and Citizen Watch.

A Middle Path Between Holding Companies and Boutiques

For years, the agency world has been caught between two extremes: global holding companies with sprawling, sometimes unwieldy infrastructures, and boutique agencies that bring speed but lack scale. Cheil is betting that CAN represents a “just right” model.

Instead of centralizing power, CAN will let each agency keep its own identity and specialty while tapping into shared resources like R&D and AI-powered production. Clients can engage a single agency, a mix of network agencies, or a custom team curated from across the consortium—something big holding companies often promise but rarely deliver smoothly.

Joe Maglio, CEO of McKinney and Barbarian, will take the helm as CEO of CAN. He’ll oversee each agency leader while orchestrating collaboration across the group. Supporting him is a lean leadership team built around an “asset-light” model—meaning fewer layers of bureaucracy and more subject-matter experts.

Why It Matters in 2025

The timing isn’t accidental. The advertising industry is in flux, with holding company mega-mergers and private equity takeovers reshaping the landscape. Meanwhile, marketers increasingly demand agility, transparency, and AI-savvy execution. CAN’s pitch is to deliver the intelligence and scale of a holding company with the nimbleness and senior talent of independents.

Maglio summed it up with a memorable metaphor: “The Cheil Agency Network is the Goldilocks of agency groups. We’re able to offer the intelligence and cross-discipline coordination of a holding company while still bringing clients the energy, flexibility, and high level of attention that make independent agencies shine.”

Implications for the Market

This move could put pressure on other mid-tier networks to rethink their structures. While rivals like WPP, Omnicom, and Publicis continue to consolidate and centralize, Cheil is effectively saying the future is about controlled decentralization—smaller teams with access to big resources.

If CAN works as promised, it could be a blueprint for how agencies evolve in the AI-driven, data-heavy marketing era—where speed, flexibility, and senior-level talent often matter more than sheer size.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.