Ogilvy & Mather London taps James Whatley to oversee innovation drive
Ogilvy & Mather London has promoted James Whatley to the position of planning partner of innovation.
James Whatley
In his new position Whatley will be task with finding applications for emerging technologies to help the agency strengthen the social relevance of its work.
He will take up his new role effective immediately and will report to Ogilvy & Mather London’s head of planning, Gen Kobayashi. Working alongside the planning department Whatley will focus on elements of the agency process, from briefing to creative to measurement.
Kevin Chesters, chief strategy officer at Ogilvy & Mather London said: “James has a brilliant grasp of what it takes to stay relevant and has made it his business to keep ahead of trends. The best definition I ever heard of innovation was that it was new stuff made useful. That's James’s new job. Take all the brilliant new stuff out there, and show how it can be made useful for our people, our clients and their brands."
Whatley added: “Ogilvy & Mather London is starting a bold journey, with a new leadership team and vision. To have been given the opportunity to play such a pivotal role in its execution is incredible. I'm super excited about the task at hand.”
Since joining Ogilvy in January 2012, Whatley has worked across clients including Kronenbourg 1664, Expedia, and Pizza Hut Delivery UK.