United Entertainment Group hires first North America president as its parent expands globally

United Entertainment Group has hired Ann Wool, the former president of Translation, as its first president of North America. The addition of Wool to help lead the region comes as UEG’s parent company, DJE Holdings, works to build a bigger global footprint. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Award winners here Wool’s first 100 days will be focused on looking at new capabilities to add, meeting and working with existing clients and creating opportunities for “clients that she has worked with in the past or that she wants to explore with us,” said Jarrod Moses, founder, president and CEO of UEG and global chair of DJE’s entertainment, sports and culture business. Moses added the global chair position to his remit in January 2022. DJE Holdings, an independent holding company founded by Daniel J. Edelman that also houses Edelman, the PR firm he started in 1952, is using UEG as the “vessel” for its global expansion, Moses said. UEG is an entertainment, sports and lifestyle marketing agency with ties to Hollywood. It launched as a joint venture with United Talent Agency (UTA) in 2007 and was acquired by DJE Holdings in 2014. UEG has nine offices in cities including New York, Los Angeles and London, and works with clients including Unilever, Samsung, Pernod Ricard and McCormick. The agency was behind getting Frank’s RedHot to partner with Jason Kelce, which resulted in a viral Super Bowl social campaign for the McCormick-owned brand this year. (The ad starring the now-retired NFL player was created by Stagwell’s Colle McVoy). @franksredhot As you know, sometimes Jason likes to shake things up. Starting now, Jason Kelce is putting Frank's RedHot on foods he loves that have an ad in the big game. On Sunday, share a post of you putting Frank's on the food you love and tag @FranksRedHot with #FranksSweepstakes ♬ original sound - franksredhot In its efforts to expand, DJE Holdings acquired German marketing agency Pacific in January and merged that with UEG’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business. Berlin-based Pacific is partnered with UEG London to create a much bigger offering for both, Moses said. DJE and UEG are also hiring “aggressively” in the Asia-Pacific region, Moses said, after expanding there in 2022. To that end, Edelman last year hired Alyssa Soh, who used to lead the branded content and creators business for X (formerly Twitter) in Japan and Asia Pacific, as head of influencer marketing for that region. Wool’s appointment will allow DJE to “extend the bench in the U.S.,” Moses said. Moses said Wool has extensive experience building brand programs backed by cultural insights, as well as in the influencer, talent and sports spaces. He said sports will be a particularly key area for Wool to help brands navigate the changes happening on the professional and collegiate level such as the introduction of name, image and likeness deals to college sports. Wool said she sees “so much opportunity” at UEG. “The reason this is such a perfect fit for me is it taps into everything I did before,” said Wool. Wool left Translation nearly a year ago following three years with the Steve Stoute-owned agency. During her time there, Translation produced highly acclaimed work including the “You Love Me” campaign for Beats, as well as key work for State Farm and the NBA, such as the league’s 75th-anniversary campaign. The agency also picked up big wins under her direction including being named the lead creative agency for the Big 12. Wool also helped Translation open its Los Angeles office in 2021. She previously spent more than 19 years at Ketchum, most recently as chief integration officer, where her work included helping to build its influencer marketing practice and other capabilities. At the start of her career, Wool was a manager at UEG sibling firm Edelman.

United Entertainment Group hires first North America president as its parent expands globally

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