New leadership line-up at Publicis Groupe UK

Publicis Groupe UK has appointed a new leadership team.

The line-up includes chief operating officer, Jo Coombs; chief growth officer, Anna Campbell and head of talent, Paula Cunnington. They join chief financial officer, James Barnes-Austin who started in June this year. All will report directly to the CEO of Publicis Groupe UK, Annette King. 

Coombs joins from Ogilvy where she was the UK CEO of OgilvyOne. She has worked with brands including British Airways, American Express, Unilever, Boots, BT, British Gas and the UK Government to establish long-lasting consumer and business-to-business relationships, drive business results and build brands. In her new role as COO, Coombs will help drive the country model, working closely with the solution hub and agency leads, fostering even greater collaboration across all talent at Publicis Groupe UK to optimise, and where relevant, reinvent the client offering. Jo will also be exec sponsor on key pitches for Groupe UK and help integrate specialist offerings with a focus on data, content and dynamic creativity.

Campbell moves across from OMD Worldwide, where she led marketing & business Development, overseeing 65 markets across the EMEA region. There, she reengineered the function and running of pitches, resulting in successes including the global wins of Disney and Liberty accounts, plus Tourism Ireland and Trip Advisor. In her new remit as chief growth officer, Campbell will work closely with the solution hub and agency leads in the UK on prospecting and business development opportunities, identifying existing client need for additional expertise within the business and leveraging Publicis Groupe’s creative, tech and data capabilities.

Cunnington, meanwhile, was previously UK&I chief people officer at Dentsu Aegis Network. She brings a range of experience from media, consultancy and financial services having also held roles at Barclays Group, Santander and Accenture. As head of talent for Publicis Groupe UK, she will be responsible for leading a strategic talent plan across Groupe UK, working closely with the solution hub CTO’s, and focusing on fostering culture to further build a collaborative, progressive and inclusive environment across Publicis Groupe UK.

“I am delighted to bring Jo, Anna, Paula and James together to create what I hope will be a truly game changing UK Country leadership team," says King. "They have such a diverse set of skills and experience which I am certain we can put to great use in service of our clients, our UK solutions hubs and agency leaders and our people.”