5 Minutes with... Emily Wilcox

In April this year, Emily Wilcox became CEO at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, following eight years at Johannes Leonardo as CEO and, prior to that, as managing director and head of account management. Before that, she spent five years as SVP at Saatchi & Saatchi New York.

During her time at independent agency Johannes Leonardo, Emily saw the team grow from 30 to 200, and worked across campaigns for Amazon, EA Sports, Instagram, Uber and more - all the while fostering a strong creative culture that resulted in financial success, an 100% increase in talent retention, and the agency’s first Super Bowl work.

Now jumping to lead an established network agency with an international family of potential collaborators and supporters, she’s confident that her role won’t be “all that different”, hoping to bring her fundamental leadership skills to TBWA’s collective of ‘unparalleled talent, capabilities and ambition’. 

LBB’s Ben Conway caught up with Emily to find out more about her latest move and approach to leadership.

LBB> Congratulations on the new role - how did this jump to TBWA\Chiat\Day come about? What attracted you to the agency?

Emily> I’ve been a fan of the TBWA\Chiat\Day brand for a while and have long admired their clear and distinct point of view around Disruption - it's a proven approach and a shared language that brings everyone together to deliver breakthrough work for some of the best brands in the world. While I wasn’t looking for a new opportunity, when I got the call from TBWA Worldwide’s CEO Troy Ruhanen and US CEO Erin Riley, and talked to them about their vision for the next era of TBWA\Chiat\Day and where they are looking to go creatively, it became clear that this was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse. I had to take the leap.

There’s also something that’s powerful knowing that you’re part of a collective of 11,000+ creative souls around the world. To have access to the best-in-class tools, capabilities, products, technology and talent to drive growth and unmatched creativity, is something that excites me about being at TBWA.

LBB> How are you looking to cause some of this creative ‘Disruption’ from the get-go?

Emily> My short term goals are firstly to spend a lot of time with the teams here and our client partners. I have a lot to learn and immerse myself in and I’m looking forward to going into student mode. The advantage of being an outsider to any situation is that you bring fresh eyes, so while I’m not setting out to intentionally be disruptive, I think that by asking questions or bringing in a non-biased point of view to how things have been done, I am able to bring in a perspective that might make the teams rethink how we can deliver our very best work.  

LBB> You were previously CEO at Johannes Leonardo, where you led in several roles for over eight years - what are some of the biggest learnings from that time that you’re bringing with you to TBWA\Chiat\Day?

Emily> That what we do as an industry is incredibly valuable and we must have unrelenting confidence about that. When the industry is chasing the latest topic or trend or over-indexing on models or ways of delivering; at the end of the day, none of it matters without creativity as the starting point.  

I also know that, as a leader, it’s important to be utterly focused on the people and I will continue to do that at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York – figuring out what they need and what will help them to grow and thrive. Creativity is ultimately the expression of what’s inside people’s minds, bodies and souls, and when those people are well cared for, supported and feel like they are in an environment where they can bring in bold thinking that’s outside the lines and might be perceived as crazy; that’s where great creativity lives. Creating the psychological safety to take risks is the only way we can grow client’s businesses with big and bold ideas.

LBB> What are you looking forward to achieving with the wider TBWA network? Will this be a different dynamic as a leader here than at an - albeit large - independent agency like Johannes Leonardo?

Emily> To be honest, I’m not sure the dynamic between this and my previous role as a leader will be all that different – fundamentally, leadership is about setting a clear vision and creating the conditions for people to be able to achieve it.  

The talent, capabilities and ambition within the TBWA collective are unparalleled. What I hope to be able to achieve within the wider TBWA network is to unearth disruptive creativity by redefining what it can do and what it can be. Whether it’s breaking conventions, pushing ourselves harder, taking risks or utilising the power of our network to deliver a full brand experience, creativity at its best can only happen when we set the conditions for it to thrive. 

LBB> TBWA\Chiat\Day has enjoyed a fair amount of change recently, with new leaders and a new office in NYC - does this encourage you to make your mark on this new era of the agency? How are you looking to re-establish the identity and reputation of the agency in 2024?

Emily> This industry has always been fluid, and like all great agencies, change is inevitable. There are some amazing leaders who have been a part of this organisation, and I am quite humbled to be following in their footsteps. I feel an immense sense of responsibility to honour the great legacy of this brand and the people who have left their mark along the way.  

At our best, we have made culture-leading work that has disrupted categories, the industry and the expectations of what creativity can do and be. Creativity will never go out of style and it is the very core of what makes us valuable partners to our clients. The opportunity is to expand the canvas of what creativity can impact, so that we are crafting platforms that aren’t just ad campaigns but that reach across the full brand experience – from design, to activations, innovation, communication and modern media thinking – that’s what I get excited about and why I took this job. 

[It’s] the combination of best-in-class creative thinking with new ways to bring that thinking to life to make it as impactful and effective as possible.

LBB> What sort of work do you want TBWA\Chiat\Day to be known for under your leadership?

Emily> I want us to be known for having big ideas that drive big cultural moments and define brands. I want us to be known not just because of the ideas we have, but the audacity of how we brought them to life – leveraging all the tools available to us to reach and meet consumers in unexpected ways. 

LBB> What do you think are the biggest challenges that both you personally and your agency are facing in 2024?

Emily> Talent. At the end of the day, this is a talent business, and my job as a leader is to attract and retain the very best so that we can be our very best for our client partners. I am personally very motivated by what that means, because if I do my job right, I’ll have created a place for great talent to thrive, and that motivates me personally as much as it does professionally.

LBB> Looking at the broader industry, what’s exciting or motivating you right now?

Emily> We are in a moment of change right now. I am really motivated by the success that I am seeing independent agencies have. Whenever there is great work being done that is proving the power of creativity, then I am all for it.  But I am also motivated by the misconception that clients must choose between size and creative excellence. TBWA is in the business of creativity, with the muscle of a network and an entrepreneurial heart. 

We all know the changes that are disrupting our industry and requiring all of us to evolve. I am a lifelong learner and the possibilities that emerging technology like AI, data and more bring to us and to brands is absolutely incredible. I intend to take full advantage of all of it in order to carve out a greater share of the future for our clients, and how we work as an agency.

LBB> Do you have any long-term goals or ambitions for the agency already? If we were to speak in five years, how would you like your impact on the agency to be defined?

Emily> The moment we are in, as an agency, is a big one and the possibilities for what we can create with our clients are endless. We’ve been lucky enough to become partners to some of the best brands in the world, and the understanding of what creativity can do and what it can be has expanded far beyond the traditional advertising outputs, giving us more ways than ever before to impact brands and businesses with our thinking.  

I have been in this business long enough to know that this industry is full of incredible talent - what we need is the belief in what we do, and an unrelenting confidence about how powerful and valuable it is. When we own those things, we are unstoppable. 

I hope that five years from now, TBWA\Chiat\Day NY will be known as the home for the most ambitious ideas, talent and clients that shape culture and the world as we know it.