Wieden Kennedy makes three global leadership appointments

Wieden Kennedy (W+K) has promoted three leaders to global network roles. Kathryn Addo has become global brand director on Nike, Rebecca Groff has been elevated to chief marketing officer, and Jacqueline Steele is now chief growth officer.

They will report to Neal Arthur and Karl Lieberman, leaders of the independent agency.

W+K previously promoted Neal Arthur to global chief operating officer and Karl Lieberman to global chief creative officer, and hired Jai Tedeschi, as global director of culture and operations.

Addo, who has been at W+K for 10 years and was previously group account director, is now part of the network leadership team. She will lead the agency’s foundational client Nike. Addo will oversee the business globally with her partners Alberto Ponte and Ryan O’Rourke. She most recently was based at W+K Amsterdam, where she ran the office’s biggest accounts—Nike, Instagram and Facebook/Meta.

Groff, a 13-year veteran of the agency, will oversee the W+K brand and its expansion into new markets. Prior to this, she served as global director of communications and PR for six years. She will continue to oversee internal and external communications across the agency’s eight global offices.

Finally, new chief growth officer Steele has been at the agency for 11 years. Previously, she served as the director of new business for W+K's New York office.

These appointments are part of the agency’s evolution, noted new CMO Groff. “We have been redefining what creative opportunity is— which includes expanding the definition of who we hire and what we do for brands,” she said in a media statement. “While this place is still very much rooted in the vision that the founders had at the beginning… there is a lot that is new and different, so a big part of the remit moving forward is making sure more people and brands know they can come to W+K and find their voice.”