Townsend to Expand Wunderman’s Regional Footprint via Data and Digital Marketing
Wunderman has appointed Haydn Townsend as Group Chief Executive Officer of South Africa, effective immediately.
Townsend has been consulting with the company for six months prior to the appointment. He will oversee the entirety of Wunderman’s South African operations, which employ over 400 people across Wunderman-owned companies.
In addition, Townsend will be responsible for expanding the agency’s regional footprint via data and digital marketing. The group’s local clients include cellular network provider MTN, Coca-Cola, Shell Global, DSTV Africa and Mercedes-Benz.
“After only six months at Wunderman, Haydn has really stepped up to drive our momentum in South Africa,” said Mel Edwards, CEO of Wunderman EMEA. “I am thrilled he’s agreed to take on a larger role in building our success. His entrepreneurial mind and diverse background are well suited to the job and will be instrumental for us as we continue to grow our offering throughout the region.”
“We have an incredible team here in South Africa and I’m inspired by the ideas and results we’re delivering to our clients every day,” added Townsend. “I believe there is a tremendous opportunity for Wunderman to drive digital transformation and I’m excited to help bring our Creatively Driven. Data Inspired. message to the market in a much larger capacity.”
A graduate of AAA School of Advertising, prior to Wunderman Townsend had been Deputy Managing Director at Ogilvy Johannesburg, Executive Director of Strategy at The Jupiter Drawing Room and Chief Executive Officer at Trinergy Brand Connectors. Most recently, he launched a new type of creative agency called Pangea Ultima providing larger scale ideation, strategy and management.
