Tom Nelson moves back to New York next month as vice-chairman and co-creative director of Ammirati Puris Lintas’ flagship New York office.

Nelson, with apl for eight years, has been chairman and creative director of the agency’s Toronto office since it opened as Ammirati & Puris in September 1993.

apl will now be headed by Dennis Stief, currently president of the agency.

Before apl, Stief had worked with Procter & Gamble and Thomas J. Lipton and logged 12 years with Ogilvy & Mather.

Doug Robinson, executive vice-president, creative director, will be responsible for creative operations along with a co-creative director to be named later.

Robinson is an art director by trade and was with Young & Rubicam for five years prior to joining apl.

Both Stief and Robinson have worked with Nelson since the office opened.

apl Toronto was opened to handle the business of two clients it shared with the u.s. – Compaq Computer and United Parcel Service, accounting for annual billings of us$10 million.

Before the agency even opened its doors, it had picked up the Labatt Breweries of Canada business.

It has since added other clients to the roster, including Lever-Pond’s, Johnson & Johnson and Ikea Canada’s loyalty program business.

In New York, Nelson will share duties with Mark Johnson, who joins apl in October from Fallon McElligott where he was a group head, creative director.

They are replacing Helayne Spivak, who has been promoted to worldwide creative director, multinational accounts.