MullenLowe UK appoints Ben Shaw Chief Strategy Officer

As reported in Campaign UK

MullenLowe UK has appointed Ben Shaw chief strategy officer to succeed Ayesha Walawalkar, who has taken on the post of chief strategy officer, international brands.

In his new role, which he will take up on 5 February, Shaw will report to MullenLowe UK chief executive Claire Hollands. His initial focus will be “around creativity and growth with a particular focus on our strategic capabilities and pitching”, the agency said.

Shaw, who has both agency- and client-side experience, joins the agency from workplace wellbeing platform Unmind, where he was vice-president of marketing. Previously he was director of brand and comms at ride-hailing service Wheely.

Before that he spent nearly 12 years at Bartle Bogle Hegarty as chief strategy officer of BBH Los Angeles, as head of strategy between 2018 and 2020 and before that as head of BBH Live. He was also seconded client-side at Unilever, working on the FMCG giant’s deodorant brand Axe (known as Lynx in the UK). Other brands he has worked for include Google, Tesco and Audi.

Hollands said the agency was “lucky that Ben decided to return to adland at just the right time for us”.

She continued: “His career to date means he’s perfectly placed to ensure our strategy department is future fit and pitch winning in 2024 and beyond.”

Shaw said: “Creative ambition. Amazing people. Animal logo. MullenLowe ticked all the boxes I needed to be excited about swapping start-ups for agency world. I can’t wait to get started with Claire, Nicky [Bullard, MullenLowe UK’s group chief creative officer] and the team.”

Walawalkar’s new role means she will be leading across MullenLowe’s global client portfolio, which includes Unilever and Bayer.

She said: “Ben’s experience and his outlook fit beautifully with MullenLowe’s ambitions and I am excited to see where he takes our strategic offering.”

The IPG-owned agency has undergone various senior management changes in recent times. Hollands was appointed to the chief executive role in May 2023, succeeding Jeremy Hines, who stepped down after five years in the post.

Bullard joined the agency in June 2022, taking over from Ewan Paterson.