Jen Costello Elevated to Global Chief Strategy Officer, TBWA\Worldwide

TBWA–The Disruption company–has named Jen Costello as global chief strategy officer. Formerly chief strategy officer of TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles, Jen will be responsible for supporting the collective's almost 2,000 strategists in their pursuit of creative excellence.

Jen moves at an exciting time for TBWA. A World’s Most Innovative Companies list honoree five years in a row, its unique Disruption® methodology has enabled it to deliver breakthrough work and drive business impact for some of the world’s biggest brands.

Troy Ruhanen, TBWA\Worldwide CEO noted, “No stranger to disruption, Jen’s elevation is the culmination of a highly-decorated decade rising through the ranks of TBWA\Chiat\Day. As the Disruption® company, we are relentless in our pursuit of a greater share of the future. Not only does Jen wholeheartedly share this view, what she has delivered in our Los Angeles office is a clear signpost to the future impact she will have worldwide.”

“Fuelled by her dissatisfaction with the rounding off of creative edges and familiar thinking across the industry, Jen is in her new role because of her ability to go beyond smart thinking to real disruption - helping our people and our clients create work the world has never seen,” continued Troy.

Jen’s rise at Chiat has been defined by creative versatility, with a throughline of challenging convention. She helped take Airbnb from creepy couch-surfing to a platform for travelling like you live there, showed Robinhood the subversive power of being a financial frenemy, and restored Jack in the Box’s unruliness during the world’s greatest period of containment. Her brand of sharp strategy and creative partnership resulted in new business wins including Discover, Sephora, and adidas. Jen’s career began in Austin, where she helped deepen the cult-status of Whataburger and Shiner Beers before joining The Martin Agency to drive digital transformation and a progressive new identity for Walmart.

Jen Costello, CSO, TBWA\Worldwide noted, “Original ideas are our greatest asset, and those can’t be found in reports or frameworks. What I adore about Disruption is that it’s a practice of looking to the future and asking what could be. It requires rigour and ruthless imagination, which seems to have gone missing in some parts of our industry. I’m excited to keep chipping away at the mediocre middle and liberating brands from this age of average.”

Effectiveness obsessed, Jen is a six-time direct Effie winner in addition to helping bring home numerous other awards from Cannes, Effie, and One Show.

Jen replaces former global CSO, Agathe Guerrier, who has been appointed as US CEO of sibling agency, 180. For the past three years, Guerrier has led the evolution of TBWA’s signature Disruption® methodology for a new age, enhancing its cultural practice, Backslash, and introducing crucial new products and services such as Disruption Index and Accelerator. Ruhanen added, “Thanks to Agathe and her relentless restlessness, we are truly in our best strategic shape. I am thrilled that her progression keeps her so close, and in the family, and I would like to thank her personally for all she has done and will continue to do.”

Jen will take up her new post in January 2024.

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