TBWA\Worldwide has appointed Ben Williams, who started his career in Australia, global chief creative experience officer.
Williams, joining from R/GA, starts January 2022, initially based in New York, with a move to Los Angeles later in the year.
He says he has worked to disrupt the expected throughout his career.
“I believe creativity has the power to solve business and human challenges in today’s world—not just marketing or communication problems—and yet few recognise its full potential," he says.
TBWA\Worldwide CEO Troy Ruhanen says Williams' work sits at the nexus of advertising, experience design and innovation.
“The industry has become preoccupied with capturing demand, separating brand and business, and creating experiences rooted in ‘best practice’ that are contributing to a sea of sameness," Ruhanen says.
"Disruption is more ambitious, unlocking opportunities for brands to develop transformative platforms that can influence every part of their company.
“One of the reasons why we’ve been named one of the world’s most innovative companies three years in a row is that we continually evolve our talent.
"And so when seeking our next global creative leader, we wanted to find someone who understood the power of Disruption and would see its potential in the context of our ever-expanding creative canvas, separating our clients from the conventions of their categories and placing them in a category of one."
Ruhanen says Williams is the right choice for the TBWA collective:
"He will set an inspiring vision, unifying the breadth of creative skills within the collective, as well as attracting talent who are eager to create the new and invent ways for people to experience brands.”
Williams will lead TBWA’s global creative core, a roundtable composed of CCOs from the collective’s top agencies, which includes chief innovation officer Luke Eid, chief strategy officer Agathe Guerrier, and global creative chair John Hunt. He’ll engage with TBWA’s top global clients, including adidas, Apple, McDonald’s, Nissan, PepsiCo and Philips.
Williams spent a number of years at both Publicis and AKQA before joining R/GA.
Before moving to the US from Australia, Williams partnered with agencies large and small before founding his own design studio, Studio Exit, that represented brands such as Ford, Yellow Pages, Toyota, Kraft, Subaru, Quiksilver, and Sneaker Freaker magazine.
He also spent 10 years leading the creative design and execution of digital platforms and experiences for touring music festival Big Day Out.
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