JWT Atlanta appointed Spence Kramer as its new CEO, effective immediately.
Kramer will manage the agency’s strategic direction and growth initiatives, taking over for Perry Fair, who is stepping down after four years as president and chief creative officer but will stay on during a transitional period until May 1. In the new role, Kramer will report directly to JWT CEO of the Americas Stefano Zunino, while working closely with JWT Atlanta chief operating officer Marshall Luck.
Kramer arrives at JWT Atlanta after spending a year as a freelance consultant in the area. He previously served as global managing director for CP+B, a position to which he was appointed in May of 2014. Prior to that he spent around seven years with W+K as global account director on Nike and then Coca-Cola after holding client-side roles as vice president of marketing for ESPN and Virgin America.
“Spence is an established global business leader with a passion and commitment for creativity,” Zunino told Adweek. “His client-side experience, management expertise and ability to drive great work make him the right person to be leading our Atlanta office. He will be a partner and advocate for our clients and employees.”
Fair will be relocating to Los Angeles, a move he had been planning for some time. He said, “Beyond the clients and the awards, an agency is its people. J. Walter Thompson Atlanta, Dallas and Houston are full of some amazing individuals. And I will miss them dearly. It has been an honor working with every client, and it’s a great feeling to know that after four years, the agency is in good hands.”
This move was unrelated to all the recent controversy surrounding JWT’s now-former global chairman and CEO Gustavo Martinez. We hear that the decision to hire Kramer predates the filing of global PR chief Erin Johnson’s discrimination suit earlier this month.