John Gray, who has served as senior vice president, director of platforms and partnerships for WPP’s Ford-dedicated GTB unit since May of 2014, left the agency to join Pinterest as vertical strategy lead for autos and entertainment, AdAge reports.
Gray originally joined GTB, then called Team Detroit, back in December of 2009 as senior vice president, director of interactive media. In that role he led GTB’s interactive media group and strategy on its digital efforts. Before joining GTB he spent four years leading the interactive marketing at Enlighten as vice president, interactive media, working with clients including Curel, Jergens, Hunter Douglas and John Frieda. Prior to that he spent nearly four years as partner, associate communications director with JWT Detroit, where he managed a team responsible for digital media planning.
Pinterest also poached Mondelez global director of e-commerce and strategy Arthur Sevilla.
Pinterest head of vertical strategy Brian Monahan told AdAge the new hires will “speak the language of our partners,” adding, “The knock on media companies, in particular, technology companies, is we show up and we’re so excited about our tech that all we talk about is our technology. As [Pinterest] is maturing as a business, we want to talk about solutions and how we can drive business for our clients.”
Gray’s exit from GTB follows the departure of longtime chief creative officer Toby Barlow in February. Global chief talent officer Linda Taylor also left the agency late last year.