J.Walter Thompson Company is 150 years old…and showing that age doesn’t dampen your verve, nous or ability to put new ideas to very good use.
The company has just united 11 digital agencies (40 offices) in 17 countries into one digital powerhouse. Which means it has already done what its sibling networks talked about “planning for” all year last year: put itself in a position of power in digital.
The new company is called Mirum: “created with a pioneering spirit, built by bringing together successful regional companies that have a deep understanding of local market needs. Mirum’s principles are rooted in innovation, design, data, marketing and technology to drive business transformation in a world of constantly evolving behaviors and expectations.”
Former Digitaria chief executive officer, Dan Khabie, has become chief executive officer of Mirum Global and North America. Khabie will oversee Mirum’s overall growth strategy, including P&L responsibility, managing key client relationships and aligning resources to service clients globally. He will report to J. Walter Thompson Company’s global chief executive officer, Gustavo Martinez, and be based between the West Coast and the East Coast.
Martinez noted, “The launch of Mirum is an integral part of our strategy to continue building on J. Walter Thompson Company’s many assets and capabilities in order to drive business transformation. Mirum is poised to deliver both the technology and creative solutions that global brands demand.”
“Dan’s natural entrepreneurial instincts and passion will foster Mirum’s startup mentality as he drives growth forward across our global network,” Stefano Zunino, head of digital worldwide, J. Walter Thompson, and chairman of Mirum, commented.
Mirum’s capabilities are organised around strategy & consulting services, creative & content, user experience & platforms, analytics & insight and product development & mobile. Additionally, Mirum has solid vertical service offerings in digital retail, behavioural media and financial services.
Current clients include CBRE, Cyrela, Daum Kakao, Finnair, HSBC, Magazine Luiza, Mazda, Microsoft, Nokia, Petco, Singapore Tourism Board, TD Bank, Walmart and XL, among others.
Khabie stated, “I am extremely honoured to have been given this exciting yet humbling role in leading some of the most talented thinkers and makers in the world. Over the last year we have worked hard as a leadership team to integrate all of these agencies together under one common vision and operational structure while keeping the entrepreneurial spirit in each region. We have become a borderless agency with a collaborative, passionate culture, and it has already led us to win global clients that will be announced on a later date.”
Mirum companies are:
Digitaria (U.S.)
XM (Asia Pacific)
CASA (Brazil)
ActivearkJWT (Finland, Sweden, India and U.K.)
Twist Image (Canada)
Lunchbox (U.S.), i-Cherry (Brazil), HeathWallace (U.K.), Quirk (South Africa and U.K.), Clarus (Mexico) and X-Prime (France) will also join Mirum.
Daiga Atvara will be chief design officer; Matt Webb, chief technology officer; Dave Wallace, chief operations officer; Nick Read, chief financial officer; Sarah Kotlova, global head of agency services; and John Baker, chief Mmarketing officer.
Khabie plans to name a chief creative officer, chief strategy officer and global head of data & analytics over the next six months.
Khabie’s global leadership team is: Robin Bade and Markus Hakala, Europe; Rob Stokes, MEA; Guilherme Gomide, LATAM; Nanda Ivens, APAC; Mark Goodman, NA; Alex Kavinski, behavioural media; and Kevin Weisberg, digital retail marketing.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for our staff and clients. Mirum is all about collaboration, and our borderless approach allows us to leverage innovation and talent from across our global network in real time. I look forward to working with Dan, and with our team across our region – and the world – to deliver the best in class digital transformative business solutions for our clients in Asia Pacific,” Ivens acknowledged.
