Virtue announces new global leadership
VICE’S creative agency elevates Rob Newlan to global president, Krystle Watler to MD, and appoints Simon Mogren as ECD.
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The agency VIRTUE born from VICE, announced the appointment of Rob Newlan as Global President, Krystle Watler as Managing Director, North America, and Simon Mogren, Executive Creative Director, US.
These appointments come at an especially exciting time for VIRTUE. In the past year, the agency picked up 24 new clients across North America and 45 across international markets, in addition to taking home one Grand Prix, one Glass Award, 7 Lions and a total of 23 shortlists at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
Newlan joined VIRTUE in June of 2017 as chief executive overseeing the organization across the EMEA region, and more recently VIRTUE’s international offices in Asia as well, after a career at Diageo, Coca-Cola and Facebook. Under his leadership, he has launched Virtue across the markets outside of North America. Seeing strong growth, the regions have recently won new clients clients including Puma, Pandora, Topshop, Budweiser and Footlocker. More recently Rob's teams have delivered highly awarded and praised campaigns, including Carlings adDRESS_the_FUTURE and Q the World’s First Genderless Voice. In his new role as Global President, Newlan will oversee VIRTUE’s 21 offices across the globe, adding the LATAM and North America regions to his scope, and their respective management teams.
VIRTUE’s global potential knows no bounds,” said Newlan. “What we’ve seen the agency and its talent achieve in the past couple of years has been remarkable. From our growing APAC presence, to the fearless creativity in EMEA, to the inspiring portfolio of work from the Americas, I’m truly honored to be leading this team as we continue to build upon this current momentum.”
Watler, who has served as VIRTUE’s SVP & Head of Business Development in North America, has helped the agency grow across the region bringing on new clients including Beats by Dre, Indeed, Target, Urban Decay, AT&T and many more. As Managing Director, she will oversee all agency operations across its Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Austin and Toronto offices. Her promotion also comes on the heels of recent industry recognition, including being named an 2019 Ad Age Woman to Watch and an Adcolor Rockstar Award finalist.
“The past couple of years at VIRTUE have been the most exciting and rewarding years of my career to-date,” said Watler. “Since joining, we began forming the agency’s strong foundation, establishing its brand identity, and positioning within the industry. As we move into this next phase, I am thrilled to lead our North America presence while partnering with Rob, Simon and the rest of our highly talented VIRTUE family.”
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A new addition to the team is Simon Mogren. Mogren joins VIRTUE with almost 20 years of experience as a creative and innovation leader in the industry. As Executive Creative Director, he will oversee the creative output from VIRTUE’s Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Austin offices. Mogren has spent time at agencies in various markets including DDB Stockholm, Ogilvy Paris and BBDO New York, and has worked with clients including Louis Vuitton, AT&T, Bacardi, PepsiCo, Dove Beauty, Footlocker, IKEA and many more. Mogren brings extensive experience in digital innovation and technology to VIRTUE, having established BBDO’s The XLab and leading DDB Stockholm’s digital offering.
“Joining the VIRTUE team at this exciting time is a no-brainer,” said Mogren. “With the agency model changing, VIRTUE has positioned itself uniquely in the industry providing them with the creative opportunities and briefs most agencies wish for. From the Weedmaps Museum of Weed to Park MGM’s Las Vegas Love Stories to Google Chrome’s Don’t Be a Browser, I’m honored to help build upon VIRTUE’s impressive portfolio and lead an outstanding creative team across the North America region.”
“VIRTUE is growing because of the phenomenal talent wanting to join and willing to transform the industry with us,” said Dominique Delport, President of International & Global Chief Revenue Officer, VICE. “With its creative reputation, ever-growing client roster, the unique access to VICE audience and cultural insights and our world-class production and distribution capabilities, this team has proven itself to be one of the most innovative in the game. Rob, Krystle and Simon are leaders and standout creatives that impact our industry as a whole. With a global footprint in more than 20 countries and unique digitally-led creativity, VIRTUE is now ready to challenge status-quo, reinvent businesses and take global brands to places our industry hasn’t even dreamed of yet.”
