Former Publicis and Ogilvy chief Jo Coombs has switched to the charity sector to “share her passion for horses” by leading one of the UK’s leading equine welfare organisations.
HorseWorld Trust, which is based in the South West, rescues and rehomes horses that have suffered from maltreatment and neglect and also runs a programme where the animals support children with special educational needs.
Coombs, who was most recently chief operating officer at Publicis Groupe, grew up on a farm in North Somerset and secured her first agency job at Brann Worldwide (now Havas CX Helia) in Cirencester in 1995.
In 1998, she moved to London and had a spell at OgilvyOne before joining Wunderman in 2002. However, she returned to OgilvyOne in 2003 and moved up the ranks to be appointed UK managing director in 2012, before succeeding Sam Williams-Thomas as CEO in 2016.
Coombs switched to Publicis in 2018 and stayed for four years before stepping down in December 2022.
Founded in 1952 following concerns over working horses being sent to slaughter, HorseWorld works in collaboration with the local authority, police and other equine charities, such as the RSPCA, to undertake emergency rescues where the welfare of a horse is in serious danger.
In addition to providing a home for life to a small number of sanctuary horses, the charity rehabilitates those rescued horses with potential for rehoming in the region and also retrains them to support its Discovery programme, working with disadvantaged and vulnerable young people.
Coombs said: “My passion for horses and first-hand experience of the social, emotional and learning benefits they bring, coupled with my professional background in raising awareness and support for organisations and their services and products, is a great foundation for leading the charity through its next exciting chapter.
“As children, my sisters and I thrived as a result of our involvement with horses. Now that I’ve moved back to Bristol, not only am I able to share my passion with my own two children, I have the opportunity to continue to grow the great work of HorseWorld’s Discovery programme – an equine assisted learning programme which has helped many hundreds of young people in the city.”
Coombs, who will be chief executive, succeeds Petra Ingram, who announced earlier this year she is stepping down.
HorseWorld chair Desi Dillingham said: “I am delighted Jo is joining the HorseWorld team. She has a huge amount of governance and business experience, this coupled with her hands-on knowledge of the equine world make her the perfect person to lead HorseWorld through the charity’s next chapter. I have no doubt she will dedicate herself to the task of securing our future successes.”
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