The retirement, which will take effect from 1 January next year, comes on the heels of his 50th birthday.
“I am very grateful to McCann for giving me the opportunity to build a wonderful career, one that covers stints in McCann Erickson, UM, and Harrison, and now allowing me to pursue my other life dreams and possibly a new career direction until I decide to fully retire,” Laurena said.
He started his career in McCann Erickson in 1993, having worked with clients such as Del Monte, Citibank, Nissan and Levi’s.
He was also one of the pioneering founders when Harrison Communications was built as a wholly-owned subsidiary of McCann in 1996, where he was eventually named managing partner. He is credited for his crucial role in growing Harrison and nurturing successful partnerships with URC, Globe and Unilab.
Laurena was appointed managing director of UM in 2009, and led the critical transformation of the team that resulted in the rebuilding of the agency’s suite of media offerings. Under his leadership, UM handled the full media agency-of-record assignments for Johnson & Johnson, Globe, BPI and Jollibee Foods Corporation.
Nandy Villar, McCann Worldgroup president and chief operating officer, said Laurena had had a "strong and dynamic" career at McCann over the past 18 years. "As Dino leaves his McCann family and moves on to the next phase of his life and his career, I wish him all the best and excitement that are yet to come. And I thank him, on behalf of McCann Worldgroup.”