Saatchi & Saatchi Promotes Sam Wise to Chief Strategy Officer

​Saatchi & Saatchi has promoted Sam Wise to chief strategy officer.

Sam has been with the agency for more than a decade. Having joined in 2013 as a planning director, he rose through the ranks and was promoted to head of strategy three years later. He led the agency’s strategy department for seven years, before being elevated to executive strategy director last year, a role which has seen him focus on driving growth for new and existing Saatchi & Saatchi and Power of One clients.

As CSO, Sam will oversee the agency’s strategic direction and play a pivotal role in its growth agenda across its whole client portfolio, which includes EE, BHF and John Lewis. Sam will report to CEO, Claire Hollands.

​Claire Hollands, CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi said, “Sam brings a potent combination of strategic ambition and creative drive. His vision for how strategy can fuel growth and help clients realise their impossible ambitions makes him the ideal person to lead our thinking in our next chapter. I’m very pleased to see him step into this role and am confident that his leadership will strengthen our offering and impact.”

Sam Wise, CSO, Saatchi & Saatchi said, “It is a huge privilege to be taking on this role after 12 years calling Saatchi's home. Strategy should be the engine of growth, not just in our agency but in the industry as a whole. I believe in our momentum, I believe in my teammates, and there’s no place I’d rather be to feel optimistic about the future.”

Louise Hawthornwaite also joins Saatchi & Saatchi as operations and delivery director, with a remit to evolve operational practices to drive efficiency and excellence.