TBWALondon has appointed Saatchi executive creative director Andy Jex and MullenLowe planning chief Anna Vogt as its new chief creative officer and chief strategy officer team. The duo is slated to start together in October with the brief of re-energizing the creative agency in London.
Jex has been with Saatchi & Saatchi since 2009 and was promoted to ECD in 2014. He leaves the agency as the second most awarded in the UK at Cannes this year. He is credited with a wide range of populist and effective work across brands such as Direct Line, HSBC, Toyota and HomeAway while also leading the agency’s creative department with long-time partner Rob Potts. Highlights include the launch of EE featuring Kevin Bacon, Wall’s “Dog in a Box” and Mattessons’ “Hank Marvin.” Previously, Jex held positions at Mother and Fallon in London, where he developed award-winning work for top-tier clients including Stella Artois, BBC Radio 1Xtra, Sony and Pot Noodle.
Vogt was promoted to group head of strategy for MullenLowe in January, having been head of planning since joining in 2015. While there, she pioneered the practice of pairing planners in teams and led the agency to the title of Most Effective Agency at the Effies UK for the last two years running. Vogt began her career as a WPP Fellow before joining Grey London to work on brands such as Fairy Liquid and Lucozade. She also spent time at BBH where she was planning director on the British Airways, Clarks and Boden accounts.
Jex said “I will be sorry to leave Saatchis but the chance to put my mark on one of the world’s other great agency brands was too good to resist. The energy and innovation in this company makes it feel like a start-up, but with scale and strength. It’s an opportunity to build something really amazing, backed by a group of people who share our ambition.”
Vogt said, “Leading an agency at a pivotal moment in its history was something I couldn’t say no to. In particular, this is a dream job for a planner: the TBWA culture has always placed strategy right at the center and the agency’s best work has typically had a strong opinion at its heart. Disruption is more relevant now than ever so I look forward to helping reinterpret it for today’s world.”
In February, TBWA Worldwide announced the acquisition of a majority stake in leading UK creative agency Lucky Generals, forming a new TBWA UK Group, which consists of Lucky Generals and TBWALondon. The founders of Lucky Generals led the search for the new TBWA leadership team.
