UPDATE: After Wunderman initially declined to comment on claims that New York president Jamie Gallo would be stepping down from his position, we have now learned from both agency reps and Gallo himself that he plans to continue leading the agency’s Manhattan office for the foreseeable future.
Wunderman has made quite a few executive-level changes in the final months of 2015 under new CEO/WPP digital veteran Mark Read. For example, the shop swiped global CMO Jamie Gutfreund from Deep Focus, hired ex-R/GA president Seth Solmons as North American CEO, and named Judy Jackson (formerly of IPG Mediabrands) as global head of talent in an ongoing effort to bring more focus to the work done by its 175 offices around the world. Solomons effectively replaced former North American president and global client lead Kass Sells, who now heads PR agency Waggener Edstrom’s N.A. organization.
Before joining Wunderman last summer to handle “brand experience, customer engagement, data and analytics, and World Health offerings,” Jamie Gallo spent two years as EVP of marketing at the NBA, during which time he was credited with helping to rebrand the WNBA and influence the larger league’s social media presence and ticket sales strategies.
Earlier in his career, he spent a decade with TBWA\Chiat\Day, during which time he “sparked the rebirth of the agency’s New York operations,” worked extensively on Absolut and Sprint/Nextel, and participated in winning pitches for Michelin, Planters, Wheat Thins, Jameson and Nissan among others.
The focus for 2016, then, will be the agency’s work rather than its recent string of executive hires.