Peter Mills has left bbdo to take over as president and chief executive officer of Ross Roy, positions previously held by Ross Roy Chairman Glen Fortinberry.

The appointment is effective Aug. 1, and at that time Mills will hold an equity position with the privately held agency.

His duties include responsibility for Ross Roy’s Canadian operations in Toronto and Windsor, Ont., and management of Ross Roy’s advertising, communications, retail, direct, production and franchise divisions.

Mills had been president and chief operating officer of Detroit-based BBDO North America since 1991, managing the Detroit office and responsible for offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Los Angeles and McKim Baker Lovick/BBDO in Canada.

He was president and chief executive officer of Toronto-based Comcore/BBDO from 1986-91, and the driving force behind the bbdo acquisition of McKim Advertising through Baker Lovick Advertising in January 1992.

Before joining bbdo, Mills held various executive positions with J. Walter Thompson in Canada, New York and Australia over a 20-year period.

Some management changes have also been made at the Toronto head office of Ross Roy Canada.

Peter Bowers, president and ceo for more than three years, left that post earlier this month.

Tim Glover, with the agency for more than three years as vice-president general manager, departs at the end of August.

The top spot will be filled by Diana Pitsolis as senior vice-president general manager.

Pitsolis has been vice-president of marketing at the agency for nearly three years.

She has held marketing positions on client and agency side for the past 20 years.

Her focus has been primarily retail, with companies such as Saffer Advertising on agency side and as director of marketing for Consumers Distributing and the Queen Street Camera chain of photography stores.

Kmart Canada is Ross Roy Canada’s major client and it recently acquired Toronto-based Handleman Co. of Canada.

Handleman manages the music and video departments of retailers such as Kmart, Woolco, Sears and at Canadian naval stations.

Ross Roy, the 17th-largest u.s. ad agency, is based in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills and has offices in New York, Ohio, Windsor and Toronto.