Gruen regular Alison Tilling has joined VMLY&R after more than 10 years at BMF, AdNews can reveal.
Tilling was hired as chief strategy officer at Y&R ahead of its merger with VML. Her official role will be confirmed within the newly merged agency in coming weeks alongside details of the broader management structure, which is currently being established.
WPP said in a statement that joint-CEOs Aden Hepburn and Pete Bosilkovski are excited to have someone with Tilling's "proven and established experience join the team".
Tilling joined BMF in 2008 as an account director, working her way up the ranks to be promoted as head of planning in 2015.
She has been a regular panelist on ABC's advertising program, Gruen, since 2015 and outspoken on a number of topics.
The merger of VML and Y&R was announced in September with the new entity creating a 300+ strong agency across AUNZ. Hepburn, formerly MD and ECD of VML, and Bosilkovski, CEO of Y&R, were named as the joint-leaders tasked with integrating the two agencies.
With the leadership structure underway, only the chief creative officer has been decided within VMLY&R with Paul Nagy taking the top role.
BMF thanked Tilling for the legacy she leaves behind and the contribution she'd made to the Aldi business during her tenure.
"Alison Tilling is one of the best planners in Australia and we’re lucky to have had her for 10 years in the BMF strategic department," BMF’s Executive planning director Christina Aventi says.
“We always promote growth from within but sometimes an opportunity for further growth exists elsewhere. She’ll always remain a dear friend of BMF. We wish her well.”
The formation of VMLY&R indicates wider changes coming to the WPP portfolio, with sources suggesting more legacy agencies will be merged with its digital shops. Read more here.
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