Happy Friday, and welcome back to Agency Brief. This week, we’ve got the exclusive on Wolfgang’s new president, and we’re highlighting two big moves at WPP. Want to be included in a future edition? Reach out to [email protected] and [email protected] for consideration.

A quick note: This column is taking a holiday break next week and will return in December. Sign up for Ad Age news alerts and visit adage.com for all of the latest news. Gobble, gobble, now let’s get to it.

Former Cashmere exec lands new role

Sandy Song, the former chief client officer at Cashmere, has joined Wolfgang as president. She replaces Seema Miller, who now serves as chief strategy officer at Stagwell Constellation. 

Song left Cashmere, where she managed clients including Google, Taco Bell and Disney, in 2023. Her departure was unrelated to a recent leadership exodus at the shop, which merged with S4 Capital’s Monks in 2021. Song had been consulting in between roles.

Also: A majority of Cashmere’s leadership step down suddenly

The appointment comes amid “strong momentum” at Wolfgang, according to a statement from the agency, which recently added Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Teremana Tequila to its client roster. Song will be responsible for managing growth, as well as operations. 

In case you missed it

Here are some of Ad Age’s biggest agency stories this week:

• How brands can protect themselves in media agency contracts
• A new ad awards show launches with an interesting twist
• TBWA\Chiat\Day works with Instacart on its Super Bowl debut
   

Watch this space

This week, Rise New York & Partners, an indie creative agency, acquired experiential studio Spaces&Creatures. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

There’s more reason to keep a close eye on activity in the experiential space. In its third-quarter earnings release in October, Omnicom reported that experiential organic revenue was up 35.3%. Meanwhile, indie agency Known recently launched an experiential practice that hinges on a niche data science practice called causal modeling. 

More brands, including Poppi and Cetaphil, are investing, too—prioritizing pop-up events and turning them into pop culture moments on social media and in real life. (Got some interesting tips on what’s going on in experiential? Drop me a line: [email protected])

WPP makes notable exec moves

Two WPP agencies, Burson and Grey, appointed new leaders this week. 

Grey New York hired RG Logan as its chief strategy officer, a new role. Logan, formerly senior VP of brand marketing and strategy at the Truth Initiative, will lead business development strategy for the agency’s clients, such as Applebee’s, Modelo and Haleon.

Communications agency Burson, meanwhile, appointed Edelman U.S. Chief Creative Officer Taj Reid as its global chief creative officer, effective Jan. 8. Reid, who has also served as principal creative director at Microsoft, succeeds the outgoing Simon Shaw.

Judy John, global chief creative officer, will oversee the U.S. creative business while Edelman searches for Reid's replacement. 

Stat of the week

With the addition of Executive Creative Director Kim Baskinger in New York, Crispin has reached 60% female representation in its senior creative ranks, the Stagwell agency announced.

Just briefly 

Pearlfisher promoted Matt Sia to executive director, replacing Hamish Campbell, who left the design agency in September. Sia was formerly a creative director. 

Automated investment service Wealthfront has named Arts & Letters its lead creative agency following a competitive pitch. There was no incumbent on the account, according to the agency. 

Media by Mother has elevated Tim Haarmann to managing director, New York, a new post at the indie agency. Haarmann will continue to serve as head of integration. 

Quad appointed Tim Maleeny as its first chief client strategy and integration officer. Tim joins from Havas North America, where he led growth platform strategy and expanded the holding company’s strategic capabilities, according to a statement from Quad. 

Milwaukee-based Hanson Dodge announced that Kate Schroeder will join the agency this month in the new role of group media director. Schroeder, who will oversee clients such as Lixil Americas, was previously a consultant for various agencies, including Hanson Dodge. 

MEL, short for Messianu/Edelman/Lerma, named Michelle Cobas as managing director, chief growth officer. It wasn’t immediately clear whether it’s a new role at the agency, which was launched in September 2023 by Luis Miguel Messianu, Edelman, and Pedro Lerma.