Unlimited hires Wunderman techie boss as group CTO

Unlimited, the group behind TMW Unlimited and Nelson Bostock, is aiming to beef up its technology and digital offering across its four marketing, PR, insight and digital divisions, with the appointment of a new chief technology officer.

John Cunningham joins from Wunderman Thompson, where he was also CTO and worked across all the agencies in the WPP-owned business in the EMEA region, Possible, Salmon, Cognifide and Acceleration.

He joined Wunderman in 2017 when it took over Possible, where Cunningham was global CTO. Since then, he has worked on most of its major accounts, including Shell, BT, GSK, News UK, Centrica, Volkswagen, and Unilever.

Prior to that Cunningham was at Razorfish for nearly 14 years, latterly as CTO, Pixelpark, Yahoo and CompuServe.

At Unlimited, he has been charged with accelerating the growth of the group’s technical offering as well as spearheading its digital strategies across key clients.

Reporting to CEO Tim Hassett, Cunningham will also be responsible for evolving Unlimited’s digital offering, including adding to its data, technology and transformation capabilities.

He will work closely with digital division Splendid Unlimited, led by Paul Bishop, whose clients include Cera Care, Clarion, BMW and Gamesys.

Hassett said: “Great agencies are built with the best people and leaders. John’s appointment is another important milestone in delivering data-driven solutions that build our clients businesses. Our client-centric approach is not only working, it’s enabling us to reach new heights.

“John enraptures our ‘Human Understanding’ proposition and with his technical expertise and in-depth understanding of our industry, he will help us explore new ways to leverage our tech knowledge and drive future growth for clients.”

Cunningham added: “I’m already seeing the agency go from strength to strength. What Tim and his leadership team have built is impressive; they have the talent, the momentum, and most importantly, their client-centric approach is one of the reasons I wanted to join.”

The appointment follows the launch of Unlimited’s Human Understanding Lab, a division staffed by neuroscientists, research practitioners, trend analysts, data scientists and behavioural scientists to support all agencies in the group.

Cunningham concluded: “The Human Understanding Lab is an incredibly powerful offering for clients, and I’m thrilled to be part of such a dynamic team of neuro and behavioral scientists.”