Wieden+Kennedy appoints Colleen DeCourcy and Tom Blessington as co-presidents
Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) has named Colleen DeCourcy and Tom Blessington as co-presidents, as Dave Luhr and Susan Hoffman move into chair roles alongside W+K co-founder Dan Wieden.
Wieden+Kennedy appoints Colleen DeCourcy and Tom Blessington as co-presidents / WK
DeCourcy has been promoted from her role as chief creative officer, meanwhile, Blessington has returned to W+K after a year at YouTube, where he held the position of vice president of brand, media, and experiences. He also helped open W+K Amsterdam and later W+K New York, serving as its first managing director.
Neil Christie, who has served as W+K’s chief operating officer since March of 2017, will assume a new role in the W+K London office as chief executive. Helen Andrews will remain W+K London’s managing director alongside executive creative directors Iain Tait and Tony Davidson.
Luhr said: “Dan Wieden and David Kennedy started this agency with a unique and long-lasting vision. Those foundational values have provided us with a hunger to construct a future agency even stronger than the one we have enjoyed to date. It is time to pass the torch to a new generation of visionary leaders to run the agency that I love so much.
"Colleen and Tom are two of the strongest creative and business minds I have ever met. They are inspiring and driven by the desire to make interesting work with great partners. I feel very confident about the future leadership of this agency and fortunate to have such a strong team paving the way for our next chapter of creativity.”
DeCourcy said: “To say I feel a huge responsibility would be an understatement. We’re just going to continue to follow Dan’s best advice: ‘Loosen up, don’t let the brand get too polished and predictable. It ain’t mathematics, it’s jazz.’”
Hoffman said: “I am incredibly spoiled to have grown up at an agency that always put people and creativity first. It’s important to me that it stay this way, that we forever fight for what’s best for the work.”