Blackwood Plans to Leave CJRW

Mark Blackwood, executive vice president of the Blackwood Martin/CJRW advertising agency in Fayetteville, has retired from the firm, and James Gardner, its senior vice president, has taken over his role, the firm announced Sept. 10.r

Frank Cox, president and CEO of Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, which owns Blackwood Martin, said Blackwood will remain with the company “in a consulting capacity” for the rest of the year.r

In a news release, CJRW said Gardner will be Blackwood Martin’s lead executive as Blackwood Martin “positions itself to broaden its capabilities and to better and more efficiently serve” Northwest Arkansas.r

Blackwood Martin was founded in 1977 and merged with Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods in 1998. r

In the news release, Cox called Blackwood “a wonderful business partner” who was instrumental in the Fayetteville office’s success.r

We were unable to reach Blackwood for a comment.r

“This has been a planned succession for some time now,” Gardner told Arkansas Business, our sister publication in Little Rock. “The plan was for this to happen all along. It was the right timing for Mark and the company.”r

Before joining Blackwood Martin in October 2002 as senior vice president and creative director, Gardner was creative director for the Seattle office of interactive agency Euro RSCG Circle, a division of Havas. There, he directed projects for global brands including Microsoft, Verizon, NBC and the Olympics. Before that, he directed the design of more than 300 Mercedes-Benz dealer Web sites in North America while with the Cobalt Group.r

Gardner said Northwest Arkansas offers the firm a host of opportunities, particularly in the technology sector. Gardner said he plans to use his background in technology to work with Fortune 500 companies.