The Essential List: Arnaud Vanhemelryck
Arnaud is global head of TK.Lab, a specialist end-to-end TikTok offering for Ogilvy and WPP. He has been working at Ogilvy for the past 10 years. His first years at Social Lab in Brussels and then in Paris allowed him to acquire a solid experience in the field of (paid) social media.
He joined Ogilvy New York in 2015 where he became Social Media Director and managed all global social operations for IBM. Back in Europe in 2017, he managed a large team of social experts across EMEA, provided strategic outputs and recommendations for the implementation of cross-borders campaigns. Over the years, he has developed an innovative strategic vision of social media with a strong focus on new business that has enabled him to successfully support both local and international businesses. He has worked for numerous clients including Coca-Cola, IKEA, BMW, Vans, L'Oréal, IBM, Nestlé, both from a local and global perspective.
Lifestyle
o Place of birth: Brussels
o Hometown: Brussels
o Staycation: Jam Hotel
o Vacation: Next vacation, my wife & I are going to Brooklyn NYC in the neighbourhood we used to live in five years ago
o Pet: Oreo (a foster dog we adopted from NY)
o Place of work: WPP Campus Brussels
o Place of workout: Thai boxing Discovery, Wavre (I co-own the gym with friends)
o Side project: @itsvhml on Instagram (art, painting)
o Mode of transport: Car or bike
Culture
o Artist: If I had to choose only one: JM Basquiat
o Musician: Really into Triplego or Bad Bunny for now
o Commercials / music video director: Romain Gavras
o Film director: Hesitating between Guy Ritchie or Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
o Photographer: I like Jonathan Bertin that I’ve recently discovered on IG
o Film: I’ve seen 1000x Dikkenek
o Series: The Wire (best show ever, no discussion)
o Commercial: First one that came to mind was Levis Odyssey (2002)
o Music video: Kanye West – Flashing Lights
o Board game: Not original but a good old’ Times up
o Book: Currently reading Homo Deus
o Podcast: Scott Galloway (if work related), La Sueur (if hobby related)
o Magazine: Pub, MM, Wired
o Bonus culture essential: Les Others magazines !
Food and Drink
o Breakfast: Quick & tasty: Oatmeal milkshakes with peanut butter & fruits
o Restaurant: Cipiace
o Cheap bite: Mer du Nord
o Working lunch: Mostly sandwiches, no surprise
o Favourite dish: My mom is French and she’s the best cook of ‘galette bretonnes’ – I ask her to cook them at every birthday
o Signature dish: Any type of Thai food
o Snack: anything salty
o Guilty pleasure: Tiramisu, even if I’m full
o Bar: Jalousy, Brussels
o Booze: Mostly #belgium beer
o Not booze: Not sure why, but I like the Uludag Turkish drink
o Bonus food: Don’t give me peanuts, I will eat them all in a blink of an eye
Kit
o Phone: iPhone
o Computer: Macbook
o TV: Philips
o Headphones: Airpods
o Camera: I bought a Fuji XT3 for travel pics
o Where you document an idea: Notes on the phone
o Casual clothing: mixing casual clothing with streetwear pieces
o Smart clothing: only at weddings 😂
o Footwear: Asics, New Balance, Nike
o Watch: I broke it, need a new one (my birthday is Oct. 1st)
o App: TikTok obviously
o Favourite social media feed: I check too much of Cole Buxton on IG
o Morning grooming: Moisture & anti-age when you’re in the mid 30s lol
