WE Welcomes Kass Sells as North America

FORMER WUNDERMAN EXEC TO BUILD ON RECENT NA REGION MOMENTUM

SEATTLE — May 28, 2015 —Waggener Edstrom Communications (WE) welcomes Kass Sells as the agency’s president of North America (NA). Sells joins Waggener Edstrom from Wunderman, a WPP company, where he served in a number of executive roles, most recently as global client lead and member of the agency’s executive leadership team.

In his new role, Sells will take over management responsibility and business development strategy for the agency’s largest region, which has accrued some strong new account wins over the first half of this year. Notable wins in all four of its core sectors (Technology, Healthcare, Social Innovation and Consumer) include Allrecipes, Amgen Foundation, Lucid and Invuity. These wins join existing global brands on the NA client roster such as Volvo, Honeywell, T-Mobile and Microsoft.

“Technology is disrupting markets and creating opportunities like never before — every company is a technology company now. With our deep expertise and insights into how brands can reinvent themselves in today’s ever-evolving digital world, WE is in a unique position to help our clients navigate this change,” said Melissa Waggener Zorkin, CEO, president and founder of WE. “I am thrilled to have Kass as a part of our agency’s leadership team to partner with our clients in building brands to compete in today’s environment.”

Sells will report directly to Waggener Zorkin. He will also join the company’s Agency Action Board (AAB), which serves as the agency’s global leadership team. Sells will partner with WE’s EMEA lead, Chris Talago, and APAC lead, Matt Lackie, to ensure strong collaboration and results across global and regional client remits. Sells will be backed in North America by a stellar group of leads: recently promoted head of Technology Dawn Beauparlant; Tiffany Cook, head of Consumer; Social Innovation lead Caroline Sanderson; and Aimee Corso in Healthcare. He will also oversee the agency’s integrated services groups and continue the build-out of a growing set of capabilities in this area.

“Waggener Edstrom’s strength is grounded in an ability to lock arms with clients and drive change through the power of communications,” Sells said. “Through this strategic seat at the table and our fierce independence, we can relentlessly focus on our clients, our people and the work we do together. WE represents the very best in communications and is exactly the kind of agency that clients want to partner with to drive their brand’s success.”

In addition to a healthy new-business pipeline, new partnerships are also strengthening WE’s trajectory in North America. Since announcing its partnership with the Garrigan Lyman Group (GLG) less than six months ago, the agencies have already generated more than $1 million of additional business opportunities with new and existing clients. WE continues to expand its independent network of agencies, with plans to add five new partners and affiliates over the next six months.

WE continues to build up its leadership bench as well, recently adding two new senior hires in the healthcare sector with the appointment of Maria Favorito and Martina Schwarzkopf, and plans to add six senior-level hires to its bench over the coming months to shore up key teams in New York and San Francisco. The agency will also continue to strengthen its integrated services, particularly in the areas of account planning and creative direction.

“Kass and I are very much aligned on where we see opportunities to continue expanding our agency offering for current and prospective clients, and talent acquisition will be a key focus of ours over the coming months,” Waggener Zorkin said.

Sells will start with the agency on May 28. His career spans more than 25 years and has earned him a reputation as a forward thinker, strong counselor and collaborative partner. During his time at Wunderman, Sells was the global client lead for the Microsoft account including the Xbox, Surface, Office and Windows brands. Sells has worked at IPG’s Foote, Cone & Belding, where he led West Coast operations and partnered with clients such as Hewlett-Packard, ShareBuilder, Nautilus, Group Health and Mercy Corps. In addition, Sells served as senior vice president and director of business development at Omnicom’s DDB Seattle, where he worked with multiple clients including McDonald’s and GE Capital. Over the years, Sells and the teams he’s led have garnered recognition from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the Effies and the Direct Marketing Association, among others.

More information on WE is available at http://www.waggeneredstrom.com.

About Waggener Edstrom Communications

Waggener Edstrom Communications (WE) is a global independent communications agency. For more than 30 years, the independently owned firm has developed strategic communications programs for innovative and world-changing clients, working to influence markets, inspire people and improve lives.

In the past few years, the agency was honored with numerous awards for creative and strategic work, among them recognition as Integrated Communications Agency of the Year, Digital Firm of the Year, Best Large Agency to Work For, Communications Agency of the Year and Technology Agency of the Decade.

The agency has 17 offices around the world, and its Global Alliance Network expands the agency’s reach to more than 100 additional international markets. WE has four key sectors: Social Innovation, Technology, Healthcare and Consumer, as well as expertise in Creative, Digital, Content, and Insight & Analytics. To learn more, visit http://www.WaggenerEdstrom.com.

For more information, press only: Kirsten Forsberg, Waggener Edstrom Communications, (503) 443-7102(503) 443-7102, [email protected]