Wieden+Kennedy, one of the largest and most prominent independent advertising agencies in the world, has announced a strategic shift in its organisational structure, including a new global stakeholder group, and a new leadership team to oversee the agency’s emerging markets. As the company approaches its 35th birthday (due in April 2017), Global President Dave Luhr and Global Chief Creative Officer Colleen DeCourcy saw a need to reshape agency leadership to position W+K successfully for the next 35 years. They have added 15 new members to the current nine-person partner group, which has been renamed to more accurately represent the leaders' role in the future of the agency. This leadership team will now be called Wieden+Kennedy Stakeholders. Founded in 1982 by Dan Wieden and David Kennedy, W+K is known for its fierce independence and provocative body of work. W+K Stakeholders will have a shared focus and role in making the agency a strong and creative leader into the next era.
The agency also announced that Kim Papworth and Karrelle Dixon have been appointed to oversee the company’s emerging markets, in new roles as Executive Creative Director, Emerging Markets and Managing Director, Emerging Markets, respectively. Reporting directly into Luhr and DeCourcy, Dixon and Papworth will be based in London while spending time in W+K’s Tokyo, Shanghai and Delhi offices. Previously, Dixon was the Global Account Director for the agency’s largest (and foundational) account, Nike, based in Portland, OR. Karrelle joined W+K London in 2006 as an account manager on Nike and other agency brands. Papworth was Executive Creative Director for W+K London for 15 years, during which the agency created celebrated campaigns for Nike, Honda and Nokia, amongst others.