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You & Mr Jones Technology Innovation

Former Neo@Ogilvy CEO Richard Wheaton to head You & Mr Jones’ tech agency Fifty-Five

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By Seb Joseph, News editor

September 12, 2016 | 3 min read

Brand technology agency group You & Mr Jones has snapped up foerm Neo@Ogilvy’s chief executive Richard Wheaton to head up Fifty-Five, the technology outfit it took a majority stake in earlier this year.

Richard_Wheaton

Neo@Ogilvy CEO Richard Wheaton to head You & Mr Jones’ tech agency Fifty-Five.

The appointment builds on the growing trend of senior executives leaving traditional agency networks for alternative businesses offering more consultancy expertise. Wheaton follows in the footsteps of the likes of David Jones (Havas) and Adam Graham (Weapon7) who have left key roles at network agencies to pursue ventures like You & Mr Jones and ‘Project Oak’, which in many ways will attempt to succeed where their former employers failed – namely commercialising an integrated creative and media model.

At Fifty-Five, Wheaton assumes responsibility of bolstering its offering in the UK, pitching its patented approach to getting returns from media channels to advertisers. Founded in 2010, the company now has over 150 employees operating in London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Of his appointment, Wheaton said: “Data’s pivotal role in businesses today means that the capture and analysis of digital information has become a critical skillset, requiring a blend of expert talents to turn past customer behaviour into insights and action.

“fifty-five is uniquely placed to help brands adapt to this new reality and I’m thrilled to be joining at such an exciting moment for the firm.”

Mats Carduner, co-founder and chief executive, Fifty-Five, expanded on this point: “Richard is a fantastic addition to the team and will play a key role as we expand our UK presence. His expertise and track record of building successful, profitable digital businesses with blue-chip clients is exactly what we need to ensure fifty-five succeeds in the very competitive UK market.”

Wheaton left Neo@Ogilvy in 2015 and was self-employed until he joined Fifty-Five at the start of the month.

Fifty-Five counts L’Oréal, Danone, AXA, Orange, Renault, Ferrero, Lacoste, BNP, Europcar, and Total among its list of clients.

You & Mr Jones acquired a major stake in the data company at the turn of the year along with minority stakes in ad tech outfit Beeswax and GIF platform Gfycat.

This article was updated on the 13.09.16 to reflect that Richard Wheaton had not joined Fifty-Five from Neo@Ogivly as previously suggested.

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