CP+B London appoints Helen James and Dan Watts as managing director and CCO
CP+B London has appointed Helen James to the role of managing director, while Dan Watts joins the agency as chief creative officer.
Dan Watts, Helen James, Erik Sollenberg and Chuck Porter
James will take on the responsibilities previously held by former UK and international chief executive of CP+B Richard Pinder, who left the agency in July. Watts replaces Dave Buonaguidi, who left CP+B earlier this year to launch his own agency.
According to MDC Partners-owned CP+B, the pair will assume leadership of CP+B’s London-based office, whose current clients include Infiniti, PayPal, Hotels.com, American Airlines, Argos, BetStars, ABInbev, Letgo, National Army Museum and Royal Society for Blind Children.
James joins CP+B from BBH, where she served as managing partner and oversaw the agency’s social media unit. Watts joins from 4Creative, Channel 4’s in-house agency, where he oversaw brand and program advertising as head of creative.
“There are a lot of brilliant advertising people in London, but Dan and Helen were the two that just knocked me out from the first time we met. They have amazingly complementary strengths, and they share the same convictions – a spirit of entrepreneurialism, a healthy disdain for the ordinary and a deep belief in the power of ideas, invention and imagination,” said Chuck Porter, chairman of CP+B, in a statement. “We’ve had some ups and downs in London – that’s not unusual when you export an agency culture around the globe. But doing things in new ways is part of our DNA. That’s what will propel this business in the future and I think Helen and Dan are the perfect people to take us there.”
Erik Sollenberg, chief executive of CP+B, added: “This is an important moment for the agency, and for the London office. As we continue to restructure and bring on leaders that can help us define the CP+B of today and tomorrow, we knew that we needed to find a team that would embrace the unique, daring and independent spirit that is the core of the London office. Dan and Helen understand this, and coupled with their experience and creativity, I know they will foster an environment where great work lives."