TBWA\London has hired new creative and planning chiefs in a search led by Lucky Generals, the agency it bought a majority stake in back in February.
Saatchi ECD Andy Jex has joined as CCO and MullenLowe planning chief Anna Vogt as CSO (both below).
Daniel Hambury /Stella Pictures
TBWA Worldwide CEO Troy Ruhanen says: “I’m thrilled to welcome Andy and Anna to the family. They are both super-smart, modern leaders who believe passionately in the power of Disruption. London must be one of the jewels in our crown and we believe Andy and Anna can get the best out of our people and bring that swagger back
Lucky Generals co-founder Andy Nairn says: “We are really chuffed to have played our part in getting Andy and Anna on board. Not only are they absolutely outstanding at their respective disciplines, they are lovely people who we know we will enjoy working with. They’ve already struck up a great relationship and we know from our experience at Lucky Generals how important simple things like team chemistry and energy can be.”
Omnicom-owned TBWA has never really fired in london despite big network accounts Apple and Nissan. In the nineties it bought a string of agencies including Simons Palmer and GGT but, despite playing host to a legion of suits now running notable agencies – Michael Wall at Mother, Robert Senior (recently departed as global boss of Saatchi), Neil Christie at Wieden+Kennedy and, most notably, Carl Johnson the founder of Anomaly, lasting success proved elusive.
When it bought Lucky Generals most people (including me) thought they’d be parachuted in to TBWA as its management but Omnicom, which seems flexible in these matters, seems happy to sustain a group structure with the Generals doing their own thing.
Ruhanen says: “We’ve already had huge success with this two-pronged approach in Germany. With Lucky Generals already enjoying great momentum, we now have two fantastic options for clients and talent, in one of the world’s most important markets.”
