This week, Grey global chief creative officer John Patroulis announced the addition of Dana Fahey Valdes to the WPP agency team in the role of executive director, creative talent.
Moving forward, Valdes will work in Grey’s New York headquarters and report directly to Patroulis while overseeing recruitment, talent management and “creative culture” initiatives for the agency.
“Dana brings a tremendous track record of success in building creative organizations,” read a statement from Patroulis, who joined from BBH last year to replace the departed Tor Myhren. “She will help us continue to attract the best talent in the world, give the great talent we possess more ownership over their ideas and create the environment and expectation for everyone to do the best work of their careers.”
The new executive brings 15 years of experience as a recruiter to her new role, holding related positions at agencies including TBWA\Chiat\Day, CP+B and Saatchi & Saatchi before co-founding a staffing firm and working as a consultant specializing in recruiting efforts for creative agencies. Her tenure as head of creative services at BBH New York also coincided with that of Patroulis.
Grey is one of WPP’s largest North American networks. Its most recent high-profile executive move concerned the promotion of Michael Houston to worldwide CEO last August.