Wieden+Kennedy has installed a new president and chief creative officer in its New York office, filling roles overseen by Neal Arthur and Karl Lieberman after they stepped into global leadership positions in October 2020.
Starting in November, Jiah Choi, previously a partner at Anomaly, succeeds Arthur as president, and Scott Dungate, executive creative director at Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo, takes on Lieberman’s role as CCO of the agency’s second-largest office.
Choi and Dungate will both report to Arthur and Lieberman.
As president, Choi will lead the 475-person New York office, working with clients such as Nike and Ford to meet their global and regional needs. She will focus on localizing global marketing ideas for clients in the region, she said.
Choi joins Wieden+Kennedy after six years at Anomaly, most recently as partner and CEO. She facilitated opening the agency’s Los Angeles office.
She previously led a Wieden+Kennedy project for Sprite during her time at Coca-Cola, which involved branding a bodega in lower Manhattan.
As CCO, Dungate will head creative output at the agency, with an eye toward avoiding “diluted, cookie-cutter” ideas, he said.
Wieden+Kennedy has employed Dungate for the past 16 years. He’s held positions as senior art director, creative director, and, most recently, ECD in Tokyo.
Both Dungate and Choi expect the move to New York from Tokyo and LA, respectively, to be the most challenging parts of the transition. Dungate especially said he expects culture shock to play a factor in his move to the U.S.
Wieden+Kennedy recently launched an NFL campaign for FanDuel.
Almost half of the agency’s $300 million 2021 U.S. revenue came from the New York office, according to its 2022 report card.
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