WPP Brand & Design collective unveils new leadership structure alongside senior hires
WPP Brand & Design, which sits within WPP Creative, has announced a new global leadership structure under recently-appointed Global CEO Jane Geraghty: one that is designed to connect its expansive specialist capabilities across its portfolio of agencies and help clients build more distinctive, multi-sensorial, future-ready brands in an increasingly AI-driven market.
The new leadership structure is designed to align growth, client leadership and deep category expertise across the portfolio, connecting clients with the right capabilities to solve increasingly complex brand and business challenges.
It is designed to give clients a more unified point of access to the group’s capabilities, creating a more connected client experience and improving speed to impact.
Alongside this, Emma Beckmann, formerly Global Chief Growth Officer at Landor, has been appointed to the expanded role of Global Chief Growth Officer, WPP Brand & Design. With over two decades at the business, she has played a central role in shaping Landor’s global growth strategy and expanding client and market development across the network.
Ann Higgins, formerly EMEA CEO of Ogilvy Consulting, also joins as Global Chief Client Officer, WPP Brand & Design and Design Bridge & Partners. She has spent more than two decades at Ogilvy, most recently leading its consulting business in EMEA, and will lead a more connected approach to client leadership, with Geraghty and Design Bridge & Partners Global CEO, John Morris, across the group’s portfolio of brands, bringing deep experience advising global organisations on growth, transformation and customer strategy.
WPP Brand & Design consultancy Landor appoints Emma Ellis to lead London
Brand and design consultancy Landor, part of WPP Brand & Design, has appointed Emma Ellis to the role of Managing Director, London, as the business continues to strengthen its UK leadership team.
Ellis joins from Interbrand, where she spent nearly 13 years in a series of senior leadership roles, most recently President and Managing Partner, London. An experienced commercial leader, she has shaped brand strategies that drive business growth, strengthen client partnerships and create long-term value, working closely with C-suite leaders across organisations.
She will report to Amal Atallah, President, EMEA, WPP Brand & Design, who previously held the role.
In her new role, Ellis will be responsible for the overall performance of the London studio, setting the strategic vision for the UK business and overseeing global, regional and local client relationships. She will oversee the London studio’s senior leadership team, ensuring the business is operationally set up to deliver against its strategic plan and budget expectations, and to produce world-class, award-winning solutions for clients.
Amy Watt steps into role of UK President at iProspect
iProspect, dentsu’s performance‑led media agency, has appointed Amy Watt to the role of UK President, effective end of June. Watt succeeds James Bailey in the role, with Bailey having moved to the position of Media CEO for dentsu UK&I earlier this year.
Previously CSO of iProspect UK and, most recently, Global Managing Director, Watt brings 20 years of industry leadership across local, regional, and global roles to her new position. Watt originally began her career at Vizeum, a former dentsu agency that was folded into iProspect in 2021; 20 years on, she is now leading the iProspect UK business.
Watt’s move from the global organisation to the UK will enable her to focus on iProspect’s expanding EMEA operations, where the agency has built a strong track record in designing bespoke, high‑performance operating models and digital hubs for clients.
She will be stepping into one of the most high-impact roles within dentsu’s UK media business, leading iProspect’s strategic direction and operations across its five UK locations – London, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, and Stafford – and its centres of excellence for EMEA and global clients.
Her priorities will include defining planning craft for the algorithmic era, scaling agentic accelerators, and nurturing a home for the most exciting talent in the industry.
Watt is set to work closely with Bailey to build bespoke solutions for iProspect clients such as NEXT, IKEA, and Kering that will draw from the broader dentsu network and unlock tangible outcomes.
Krish Vitaldevara and Anand Swaminathan join Sage executive leadership team
Accounting, financial, HR and payroll technology provider Sage has announced the appointments of Krish Vitaldevara as Chief Product Officer and Anand Swaminathan as Chief Strategy Officer.
As Chief Product Officer, Vitaldevara will be responsible for Sage’s global product and platform strategy, innovation roadmap and delivery, ensuring the company continues to develop trusted, intuitive and intelligent AI solutions that help customers succeed.
Before joining Sage, Vitaldevara was General Manager and Executive Vice President at Salesforce following its successful acquisition of Informatica, where he led the integration of products, people, and processes. He also held General Manager and senior technology leadership roles at NetApp, Google, and Microsoft.
In his capacity as Chief Strategy Officer, Swaminathan will lead Sage’s corporate strategy, growth priorities and long-term value creation agenda, working closely with the Executive Leadership Team to support Sage’s strategic execution.
Prior to joining Sage, Swaminathan was a Senior Partner at McKinsey, where he advised management teams and boards across industries on AI transformation, technology-enabled growth and enterprise transformation. He also held senior roles within Accenture Digital, helping to scale the business globally and supporting its growth across strategy, data, AI, cloud, and digital product development.
Vitaldevara and Swaminathan will join Sage’s executive leadership team on 18th May and 15th June respectively, and will be based in the company’s San Jose, California office.
Social-first creative and creator agency NewGen expands US talent department
Social-first creative and creator agency NewGen has announced the expansion of its talent department in the US with two senior appointments to its New York office.
Joowon Lee takes up the role of Associate Talent Director while Mark Sharman has stepped into the role of Senior Talent Manager.
The new appointments follow NewGen’s first senior hire – Dana Pirkle as Executive Vice President of Talent – to its US talent department in 2025. They will be tasked with managing creator rosters, brand activations and brand consultancy.
Lee previously held the position of VP of Talent Management at The Kinetic Group, where she focused on empowering creators to achieve long-term strategy goals and monetize across all content forms, including developing campaigns on behalf of brands such as UFC and Activision, as well as spearheading live events. Earlier in her career, she held assistant and coordinator roles at Press X and Addition LLC.
Sharman joins from Bad Moon Talent, where he spent more than five years scaling the talent division centered around short-form content creators, and tier-one esports broadcast talent.
NewGen is continuing to scale its base in the USA with strategic hires, growing its talent roster, creator signings, reach and wider delivery services.
Teads hires ex-TikTok Jit Shergill as UK Head of Sales
Omnichannel outcomes platform Teads has announced that Jit Shergill has joined the team as Head of Sales for the UK. Shergill will primarily oversee all the UK agency account teams in London while covering for Lucy Brett, and will be responsible for pipeline measurement and hitting performance and CTV targets.
Shergill joins the team from TikTok, where he held the role of Group Agency Partnerships Lead, with previous roles at Microsoft and Amazon. He brings considerable experience in successfully integrating brand and performance solutions to deliver measurable business outcomes, helping shift advertiser investment towards more outcome-driven approaches.
Search Theory announces first major hire with new Head of Paid Media
Search Theory, a brand new agency launched by industry veterans David Vernon and Sara Kavanagh in April, has announced its first major hire following its first month of operations.
The agency has appointed Courtney Scrivens to the role of Head of PPC and Paid Social.
Scrivens will lead the agency’s PPC and paid social offering, focusing on driving measurable growth and expanding Search Theory’s capability across performance channels. With more than 11 years of experience across paid media, Scrivens has worked with strong brands across multiple sectors, including construction, travel, beauty, fashion, health and safety, and precious metals.
Search Theory is also set to open up a range of new roles as the agency begins to build its services.
TAU Marketing Solutions appoints ITV’s Jay Rajdev as MD London
TAU Marketing Solutions, the AI-driven marketing engineering company founded by digital veteran Robert Webster, has appointed Jay Rajdev as Managing Director, London, continuing a run of senior hires who have held leadership roles across WPP’s agency network.
Rajdev spent more than six years at ITV as Head of Advanced Advertising, where he led the broadcaster’s addressable advertising strategy and launched ITV AdLabs, its home of advertising innovation. Prior to joining ITV, he spent three years leading Brand Solutions for CTV adtech business Videology, following two decades in client leadership roles at MediaCom.
The appointment follows TAU’s hiring of Paul Cooper as MD of TAU North and Zuzanna Gierlinska as Chief Revenue Officer earlier this year. Cooper was, most recently, Chief Operating Officer of EssenceMediacom North, in which capacity he built the largest media agency operation outside London, along with managing WPP agencies emCode and JWT Manchester. Gierlinska previously served as Chief Solutions Officer at GroupM Nexus and Managing Director of Xaxis UK before joining TAU.
hedgehog lab bolsters leadership team with senior promotions
Newcastle-headquartered product design consultancy hedgehog lab has announced a series of promotions among its senior team.
Joe Thompson, hedgehog lab’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), has joined the company’s board. Thompson has more than 25 years’ experience in the tech sector and has been with hedgehog lab for the past two, having previously held senior roles at Xoomworks – part of global consultancy Accenture.
Ryan Scaife, previously hedgehog lab’s Chief Financial Officer, is taking on an expanded role as the business’s new chief financial & operating officer (CFOO). He has been with hedgehog lab for more than three years, having previously held similar positions at Netsells and Epiphany Search.
Aimé Watson Bachini has also been promoted to Director of People as hedgehog lab steps up its plans to grow its headcount in the months ahead. Watson Bachini has been with hedgehog lab since 2020, leading on HR, talent acquisition, and the development of its unique culture.
The additions to hedgehog lab’s leadership team follow the appointment of Malcolm Seagrave as CEO and Julian Leighton as chair earlier this year, as well as further appointments in its growing public sector team.
Think ALT installs new leadership team to embed creative strategy at the heart of media planning
Creative campaigns agency Think ALT has installed a new leadership team made up of managing director Tala Cook, creative media director Nathan White, and campaigns director Fiona Hayes.
Alongside founding partners David and Laura Haggerty, the board will lead the agency’s ambition to embed creative strategy at the heart of all media and campaign planning.
Formed to tackle media fragmentation and evolving consumption habits, the agency will treat media planning as a creative discipline. Its new structure is designed to maximise creative and strategic impact at every stage of planning and delivery in a bid to generate campaigns that truly capture audience attention.
MD Cook has been instrumental in growing Think ALT from a three-person start up in 2019 to the 30-strong agency it is today. Cook will sit alongside Nathan White, who was promoted to the board in 2025 after playing a key role in shaping the agency’s media product and driving campaign effectiveness for major clients.
Fiona Hayes joins the new-look board after having played a pivotal role in the growth of award-winning communications agency John Doe, where she was previously managing director. She brings extensive experience in integrated campaigns and client leadership to further strengthen Think ALT’s offering.
Supporting the board at the Glasgow-based agency is a newly-structured management team. Katrina Moohan and Diane Firth have been promoted to portfolio client directors, while Edd Norval joins the agency as creative services director, joining from his previous role as managing partner of cultural sports agency The Deep.
Screenverse appoints Nick Sadler as SVP of Supply
Screenverse, a specialist in programmatic monetisation for digital out-of-home (DOOH) media, has announced the appointment of Nick Sadler as Senior Vice President of Supply: a strategic leadership role focused on advancing the company’s supply-side growth and expanding its partner ecosystem.
Sadler brings a rare and complementary blend of expertise spanning OOH media, technology, marketplace development, enterprise partnerships, and supply-side strategy. Prior to joining Screenverse, he spent 11 years at DOmedia, where he served as Chief Product Officer and CEO, helping to scale a platform that supports billions of dollars in OOH media investment annually. Sadler worked closely with media owners to understand the complexities of their business, optimize performance, and position them for success in the programmatic marketplace.
In his new role, he will lead and evolve Screenverse’s supply business, helping to architect the company’s long-term growth as it expands its partner network and extends the reach of its technology.
Jellyfish welcomes new Managing Director, UK & Ireland
Global digital marketing business Jellyfish, part of The Brandtech Group, has appointed Stephanie Parry to the role of Managing Director, UK & Ireland.
Parry has been promoted from EVP, Client Management, a role she held for two and a half years, leading relationships across Jellyfish’s global client portfolio, including Boots, Deckers, Apple and Workday. During her tenure, she has played a central role in scaling client partnerships, driving measurable business outcomes, and strengthening the company’s integrated approach across media, creative and data.
She brings more than two decades of international experience to the role, including senior positions at Mindshare New York, where she served as Global Managing Director and Managing Partner on the BlackRock business; and WPP’s Red Fuse Communications, where she held the role of Global Media Director.
In her new role, Parry will be responsible for the performance and growth of the UK and Ireland business, with a focus on deepening client impact, advancing Jellyfish’s AI-driven capabilities and accelerating collaboration across the wider Brandtech Group. She joins the UK leadership team under Brandtech UK CEO Lisa De Bonis.
Paid media optimisation & insights platform GOA appoints new CEO
Paid media optimisation and insights platform GOA has named James Glick as its CEO.
Glick is taking over from incumbent CEO Dan Chorlton, who has stepped into the role of Founder & Chairman.
He joins GOA to support the scaling of its platform and consultancy services and to unlock opportunities for further growth in the US, APAC and MENA regions. With more than 20 years of performance marketing and agency experience, including recent C-suite roles at Assembly Global and Brainlabs, Glick brings invaluable insight into the martech sector from an agency perspective. This knowledge will be pivotal in supporting GOA to evolve and innovate its platform and services in the AI era.
Ex-Google sales leader joins Billy Grace amid its expansion into the UK market
Amsterdam-based AI marketing intelligence platform Billy Grace has appointed Juliette Potuznik in the role of VP of Sales as it formally enters the UK market.
Potuznik most recently held the role of Head of Accelerated Growth at Google Dublin, a role she held for close to four years. Other experience includes sales and account management roles at Groupon, Jungheinrich Nederland BV, and Locals United. Potuznik also serves as an Executive Member of global learning network Pavilion.
In her new position, Potuznik will spearhead Billy Grace’s growth into the UK’s rapidly-expanding digital market.
