Lucky Generals Hires Cat Wiles as First Chief Strategy Officer

Lucky Generals has strengthened its leadership team by recruiting Cossette's Cat Wiles as its first CSO. She will report into Andy Nairn, the agency's strategic founder and help him continue to drive the strategy of the agency (which grew revenues by 21% last year) and key accounts. 

At the same time, the agency will promote strategy director Matt Gainsford to head of strategy, to manage the day-to-day running of the department, reporting to Cat.

In her three years at Cossette, Cat helped Canada's biggest agency overhaul its strategic capabilities. In 2020, it was named Effies Agency of the Year. In 2021, it was shortlisted for APG Agency of the Year. And in 2022, it won Gold and a Special Prize at the IPA Effectiveness Awards, for its SickKids paper, which Wiles co-authored. 

Cat started her career at Unilever before switching to agency roles at Lowe and CHI. She then rose to become a strategy director at Mother, a board account planner at AMV BBDO and Head of Planning at VCCP.

Andy said, "I've long felt that Cat was the outstanding strategic leader of her generation - I think I tweeted something embarrassing like this after one of her many awards triumphs! - so I'm delighted that she's decided to join our gang as we refresh and reinvigorate ourselves."

Cat said, "When I decided to come back from Canada, there was only one agency for me. The chance to be part of an entrepreneurial culture that is already highly successful but determined to keep developing and trying new things was too good to miss."