Ann Mack Leaves JWT for ‘Facebook’ Startup (Memo Included)

By Patrick Coffee 

ann mackToday we received confirmation that Ann Mack–a former Adweek reporter who worked with JWT for the past ten years, most recently as Director of Trendspotting–will leave the agency for a position on the Facebook team.

Here’s the memo from chairman/CEO Bob Jeffrey on her West Coast relocation:

I have some bittersweet news to share.

Advertisement

After a very successful 10-year run at JWT, Ann Mack will be leaving us at the end of April. She is going west to Silicon Valley and joining Facebook to help build their market insights practice.

During her tenure at JWT, she was responsible for building the JWTIntelligence brand and team from the ground up. She was key in creating a regular flow of thought leadership into JWT’s network of 10,000 employees and base of multinational clients. Under her leadership, the team has published more than 150 reports, as well as the annual “10 Trends” and “100 Things to Watch,” which have become highly anticipated cultural markers, not only for marketers, but also for the general public.

Ann spearheaded the development of the JWT AnxietyIndex.com and the more recent JWTIntelligence iPad app.

She has also created pioneering research in partnership with many of our key clients, including Unilever, Kimberly-Clark and Kellogg’s. Her trend work has been instrumental in our efforts to secure new-to-network and organic business growth.

Ann has also been an ongoing media draw and reputation driver for our agency worldwide. She has appeared on The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Fox & Friends and Sky News, and has been featured and quoted in global media including The New York Times, Fast Company and The Economic Times, just to name a few. She’s quite the “media darling” now and we will always be proud to say Ann “grew up” here at JWT.

The Trends team, while sad to lose their captain, will continue to grow and evolve. We will soon share our vision of how the offering will evolve for the future, as we have a number of exciting initiatives currently in development.

Having personally poached Ann Mack from Adweek 10 years ago and convinced her to leave journalism and develop a career in trends, I am especially excited for this next chapter in her career. JWT, in its 150 years, has developed some of the best talent in the business, and Ann will forever be a beloved alumna.

We wish her well, and will keep an eye out in the media for her.

No word on the search for a new trendspotter.

Advertisement