Wunderman Thompson has lured former Publicis Sapient chief Ewen Sturgeon to the role of CEO for Europe and South Africa, effectively succeeding Mel Edwards who held a similar role until she was promoted to global CEO last year.
Sturgeon, who will be based in London and will report to Edwards, will oversee the strategic growth of the business and operations across the European and South African regions. He will oversee 6,500 employees across 76 offices.
According to the blurb, “Sturgeon is a renowned industry leader with a proven track record of driving innovation and growth across multiple client sectors, including commerce, creativity, data and technology”.
Sturgeon was previously chief operating officer of Publicis Sapient’s EMEA region, where he helped lead the integration of DigitasLBi, SapientRazorfish and Sapient Consulting Assets across Europe.
Before that, he was CEO of DigitasLBi International for over four years, where he helped build the European business and also developed the first Digital Centre of Innovation for AstraZeneca.
Edwards said: “I’ve been a massive admirer of Ewen’s for some time now. He is a well-respected entrepreneur and innovative leader with a brilliant history of leveraging breakthrough creativity, data and emerging technology to inspire growth for clients and partners.
“His experience of bringing together pioneering businesses to create something new and unique is why he is perfect to lead our European region. We are beyond thrilled to have Ewen join the Wunderman Thompson family.”
Sturgeon added: “I’ve said before that going forward, the ownership of actionable data and the strategic, organisational, technical and cultural chops to leverage this as a competitive advantage, will be central to the success of any brand.
“Wunderman Thompson has everything a modern agency needs and more. They are doing things differently in today’s ever-changing market, and I was impressed by their approach to business growth and ability to help clients’ future proof the way they engage with customers. Wunderman Thompson’s offering is the reason I am returning to agency life and couldn’t be more excited for this journey.”
The large salary probably helped too.
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