VMLY&R poaches Adam&Eve/DDB's Karen Boswell to lead EMEA experience arm
VMLY&R has hired Karen Boswell to fill the newly-created role of chief experience officer for EMEA coinciding with the launch of its new 'customer experience (CX) 'centre of excellence' which will serve the market out of London.
Boswell joins from Adam&Eve/DDB where she was head of innovation / VMLY&R
Boswell joins from Adam&Eve/DDB where she was head of innovation. In her new position, she will lead experience practice for the recently-consolidated VMLY&R in her market. The agency said the new division Boswell will oversee is focused on "driving value from each interaction between a brand and a consumer".
"It brings human-centred design, creativity and technology together to create a connected consumer experience driven by insights and mapped to the bottom line to ensure growth across relevant white spaces," the WPP-owned company explained in a press release.
The marketer will be responsible for ensuring the agency leverages technology to accelerate both brand marketing and business strategy for clients. She will work closely with the global CX practice at VMLY&R.
Boswell will report to Jeff Geheb, VMLY&R global chief experience officer, and work closely with Andrew Dimitriou, chief executive for EMEA and London boss; both of which were recently appointed.
Of her appointment, Dimitriou said: “Karen’s hire reflects our commitment to invest in our CX capability and build our centre of excellence in London. I could not think of anyone better suited to lead it. And I can't wait to see it translate into brilliant, creative and effective work for our clients."
As well as leading innovation at Adam&Eve/DDB, Boswell was previously client lead at AQKA. She is also founder of tech startup Thei.A Cognition, which is building a neural network to help brands create personalised campaigns.
Boswell said: "I’m incredibly excited to be joining VMLY&R at this pivotal time. The agency is being set up to bring together the best of modern business thinking, innovative design services and relevant emerging technologies to deliver full connected brand experiences to client partners and their consumers.”
Last year, WPP merged VML and Y&R into an integrated offering to better service clients. Since then it has announced a slew of senior appointments, along with plans to build three centres of excellence to service EMEA: the CX arm Boswell in the UK that is heading up, alongside Poland (technology) and Turkey (content).