Rapp's Freeland to succeed Stagg as Dentsu CXM boss

Dentsu has recruited former Rapp chief Chris Freeland to succeed Anne Stagg as boss of its CXM practice in the UK and Ireland, despite him vowing just under a year ago to “do something different with my career”.

Stagg resigned from the role of CEO of the CXM division in February to lead Digitas, and is set to join this summer.

Freeland started his agency career at Lida but stayed less than a year before joining TMW in 2001 as business director, when it was still an independent agency.

Over the following five years he moved up the ranks to client services director, and was managing director when Creston bought the business on 2006.

Freeland eventually became chief operating officer in 2012 and was promoted to joint CEO in 2014, working alongside Chris Pearce.

He joined Rapp in January 2016, effectively stepping into the role vacated by Marco Scognamiglio who had landed the top international job. He sat on the senior management team reporting to Sophie Daranyi, who was Rapp regional president at the time and eventually became Omnicom Commerce Group global CEO.

Following the merger with Proximity London in 2020, Freeland was handed the role of executive chair while Proximity CEO Gabrielle Ludzker became chief executive of Rapp. Ludzker took over Freeland’s UK duties.

According to an email leaked to staff at the time, Freeland said: “I have some time ‘in the garden’ to fully shape my long-held intention of doing something a little different at this stage in my career.

“I am so incredibly proud of what we have achieved together over the years, and I look forward to seeing Rapp continue to go from strength-to-strength.”

His departure also coincided with Rapp global CEO Scognamiglio stepping down after 25 years with the agency.