Adam & Eve/DDB has promoted Ant Nelson and Mike Sutherland, executive creative directors at the agency, to chief creative officers, and Will Grundy, its head of planning, to chief strategy officer.
In their new role, Nelson and Sutherland will oversee the Omnicom agency's 40-strong creative department, which creates ads for clients including Volkswagen, Marmite, Lloyds Bank and PlayStation.
Nelson and Sutherland will report to Miranda Hipwell, who became chief executive of the agency in November 2023. They will also report to Chaka Sobhani, the global president and chief creative officer at DDB, on creative matters.
Recently, the duo worked on “Missed birthdays” for mental health charity Campaign Against Living Miserably. The work featured a balloon installation in Westfield, White City, to highlight the realities of youth suicide. Campaign named it the top live experience of 2024.
Adam & Eve/DDB previously created “The last photo” for the charity, which picked up the Film Lions Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2023 and Best Campaign at the Campaign Big Awards in 2022, as well as "Project 84".
Nelson and Sutherland have overseen all creative work on the Calm account.
Hipwell said: “Ant and Mike’s creative pedigree is second to none and there is no stronger (or nicer) duo to take the helm – leading us to even greater creative heights."
After a decade at Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, they joined Adam & Eve/DDB as deputy ECDs in 2017, following the 2016 promotion of Brim to chief creative officer. The agency moved up Nelson and Sutherland to executive creative director roles in 2018 after "Project 84" won two gold and four silver Cannes Lions.
Nelson and Sutherland met at advertising college in 1997 and started their careers at Saatchi & Saatchi London in 1998, under the guidance of David Droga, now chief executive of Accenture Song, before joining Fallon in 2003. Later, they moved to Publicis, New York, under Droga, before returning to London to join AMV BBDO.
The duo have also helped set up Adam & Eve/DDB’s First Bite internship scheme, which aims to offer creative and strategic placements to anyone, regardless of education or experience.
Nelson and Sutherland added: “Having the opportunity to lead one of the most talented creative departments, in one of the world’s best agencies, is a dream come true.”
Grundy will now lead the agency's 30-strong strategy department, which won the Grand Prix and Effectiveness Company of the Year at the IPA Effectiveness Awards in October 2024. He will also report to Hipwell.
He joined Adam & Eve/DDB from university in 2011 as a planner, becoming head of planning in 2021. During his time at Adam & Eve/DDB, Grundy has worked on strategies for clients including PlayStation, Marmite and Google. As well as leading planning on the successful Calm work, he is also a trustee of the charity.
Grundy has also led strategy on the agency's 2024 new business win Disney, for which Adam & Eve created a short film for Christmas about a young boy’s friendship with an octopus.
Hipwell said: “Will is a master of strategy and has been behind so much of our brilliant thinking and work that has grown our clients’ bottom lines. He’s also a very good egg, and we couldn’t be happier that he’s taking on the mantle of CSO. As a leadership team, we are fired up for 2025 and everything to come.”
Stuart Williams, planning director at Adam & Eve/DDB, will replace Grundy as head of planning.
Grundy added: “The only thing better than being given the opportunity to be CSO at 'The Home of Planning' is having the chance to do it alongside Ant, Mike and Miranda. I feel excited, hugely privileged and just a little bit daunted.”
The trio will begin their new roles on 1 March.
Adam & Eve/DDB told Campaign that news of ECD hires will be shared in due course.
Brim and Beverley will launch their start up in late spring with Polly McMorrow, the chief executive of McCann London.