Anomaly has named Ariba Jahan as head of transformation, North America. Based in New York, she will work across Anomaly offices in NYC, Los Angeles and Toronto.
Jahan will help clients shape experiences, products and content to drive change across their business, with a keen focus on guiding the future of responsible technology and business transformation.
“Ariba was the perfect choice for this vital leadership role–technological know-how combined with ambition, innovation, creativity and an entrepreneurial drive,” said Carl Johnson, Anomaly founding partner and executive chairman. “Throw in an eclectic background and that’s how you get an Anomaly.”
Jahan steps into her new position after most recently serving as VP of product experience and innovation at the Ad Council. During her nine-year tenure, she led the non-profit’s design innovation practice, leading organizational change and innovation strategy while shaping the emerging tech and media center of excellence. Now, Jahan will develop innovative solutions in digital products and experiences, content strategy, organizational strategy, business structure, and operating models for Anomaly.
An active keynote speaker at global tech conferences and for companies like Google, Vox Media, Etsy, Hubspot, TikTok, Advertising Week, Women Who Code, Ogilvy, and Interaction Design Conference, Jahan has guest lectured for institutions including Columbia University, the California College of Arts and The New School and taught at Parsons School of Design. She currently chairs the Advisory Council of Women in Innovation, served on the board of Asians in Advertising, hosts the Up Next In Tech podcast, and in 2023 was named and featured as part of The Global Top 100 Women of the Future. In her free time, Jahan mentors young women in tech as part of her mission to bring more diverse, intersectional, and marginalized voices to positions of power and leadership.
“Imagination is the starting point. We unlock extraordinary possibilities when we weave in technology with a clear business focus, human value, and creative vision. It’s about seeing beyond the present to build solutions that are as innovative as they are impactful,” said Jahan. “I am delighted that a role like this one exists at the intersection of brand transformation, experience strategy and technology, something that, as a multi-disciplinary leader, resonates deeply with me. So too, does Anomaly’s very real claim to be a deviation from the norm; I felt that immediately and at every touchpoint.”
This news comes on the heels of Anomaly’s acquisition of French digital brand and marketing consultancy What’s Next Partners (WNP). WNP will become the first co-branded member of the Anomaly Alliance, a partnership model designed to expand the agency’s global footprint beyond its existing offices in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, Berlin, and Shanghai.
