Wieden+Kennedy has appointed David Colman as chief creative officer and Eleanor Thodey as president of its Tokyo office, as the independent network looks to steady its Japan business after several years of leadership turnover.
The pair officially stepped in their roles in May 2026.
Colman most recently led Ford Europe across 19 markets out of London, with credits including the global ‘Ready Set Ford’ relaunch and the Prime Video series Charge Around the Globe. Before W+K, he was at Mother London and worked across Uber Eats, IKEA and MoneySuperMarket. Thodey brings 14 years of W+K Amsterdam tenure, with a portfolio spanning Samsung Mobile, Meta, Netflix, Airbnb, Duolingo and LVMH—much of it focused on global launches across Asia, Europe and the US.
“This feels like a real turning point for the office creatively and culturally,” Colman told Campaign Asia in an exclusive interview. “W+K Tokyo has always been strongest when Japanese and international talent collide in interesting ways. The work coming out of this office has always been incredible, but now it’s about building stability again, nurturing the next generation of talent and creating an environment where distinctive ideas can thrive.”
Supporting the new leadership team are strategy lead Masahiro Ando, group creative director Max Pilwat and head of production Kosuke Sasaki.
The shop currently employs around 50 full-time staff and also services the Korean market from Japan.
W+K’s Tokyo office has long punched above its weight on culturally influential work—from Nike’s Music Shoe and Tinder’s ‘Swipe Mart’ to MLB’s ‘Hometown Heroes’ manhole cover campaign, a zero-paid-media activation that generated US$49 million in earned media globally.
For Colman, the opportunity is both cultural as it is creative. “In the AI age, creativity is more important now than ever because there’s so much content that looks and feels the same. AI makes content generation easier, but advertising still comes down to standing out and being remembered.”
Campaign Asia caught up with the newly appointed leadership team to discuss creativity, independence, AI and the agency’s ambitions for Tokyo. Read below:
Campaign Asia: Dentsu and Hakuhodo dominate the market in Japan. What's the realistic commercial case for W+K, which has undergone several leadership shuffles in Japan?
David Colman: This is the moment for independent creative companies. The holding company model is fundamentally different — they do a lot of other work, shall we say. Everything we stand for at W+K is about being a great creative partner and putting creativity to work as a business tool. That sets us apart. And frankly, I think AI is going after the holding company model a lot harder than it's going after an independent agency like ours. We can adapt our creativity around a client's specific needs in a way that those bigger, legacy structures can't. So I feel more optimistic, not less.
Thodey: The W+K independence proposition is just as powerful today as it was 10 or 20 years ago. When someone decides to partner with us, our goal is to make them become successful — we're not answering to shareholders or holding company structures. And because we don't buy and sell media, we're strictly focused on the creativity.
We might recommend ideas with no media attached at all. We did a Major League Baseball campaign around manhole covers with zero media buy that generated US$49 million in earned media. If clients want to break through and connect with audiences in genuinely new ways, W+K Tokyo is a compelling proposition.
Campaign Asia: W+K Tokyo has had real leadership instability over the past few years. What makes this reset consequential for W+K Tokyo?
Colman: This feels like the beginning of a new chapter. The work coming out of this office has always been incredible, and our role is to build on those foundations, bring stability and continue pushing creatively. W+K Tokyo has always been strongest as a hybrid agency — combining Japanese and international talent in a way that creates ideas nobody else could come up with. Over the last few months, we've made promotions and new hires, and it feels like a real turning point for the office creatively and culturally.
Talk about the short-term and long-term commercial ambition for the shop?
Eleanor Thodey: It's not about being the biggest, and it's not purely about growth. It's about being truly valuable and impactful to the brands and partners we work with. In true W+K fashion, we think about the type of work we want to see out in the world, the relationships we can build, the challenges we can go after, rather than just chasing a growth number.
It's about creative and strategic thinking that creates disproportionate impact. Work that travels beyond a media buy. Work that has an idea baked in, that has meaning, that talks to people in a way not all work does. We work with Nike — we just did the ACG launch in Japan— as well as Match Group and Amazon.
There are some exciting new business opportunities in the pipeline that we can't talk about yet. But the point is: yes, there are things to sell and brands to get into people's lives, but there's also a point of view and something to say. That's how we think about the impact we want to make.
The conventional wisdom is that long-term brand building is becoming a luxury only the biggest clients can afford. Everyone else wants performance, ROI and short-term results. Does that shrink W+K's addressable market, or create an opening?
Colman: Creativity is more important now than ever precisely because there's so much stuff that looks the same. At its core, advertising is about standing out and being recognised — and creativity is how you do that, regardless of the environment. AI is a brilliant tool and we use it all the time, but it's about using it the right way: to get to ideas quicker, to help visualise them. It will never replace what a human can do in thinking of that standout idea that positions a brand differently. Finding the voice of a brand — that's the true unlock, and it applies to every brand, no matter where they are or what language they speak.
Thodey: We're built to partner around the type of challenges our clients actually have. Not every client has a long-term brand challenge. But if there's a communications problem where there's space for a point of view — for the work to say something — that can take many forms. A short-term activation launching in three months, or something that extends over years. Our version of W+K creativity is work that says something and has an impact, not just big brand-building work that takes years to turn around.
What does success look like for the two of you two years from now?
Thodey: A client roster filled with interesting partners and work that resonates culturally. But also building a place people genuinely enjoy working at — that matters enormously to us. We also want to contribute to the wider creative community in Japan through initiatives like the Kennedy's 青ケツ internship programme and The Weekend cultural event series.
Colman: I'd like us to play a more active role in Japan's creative conversation again. To show up more visibly with a point of view on creativity and culture.
Last one: What's the leadership philosophy you're bringing into your roles?
Colman: It's possible to be human and kind in this business, while making the best work of our lives.