Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo has begun a new chapter for its Tokyo office with the appointment of chief creative officer, David Colman, and president, Eleanor Thodey.

The appointments align with a renewed focus on strategic and creative excellence, built around a powerful collective of strong Japanese and international talent. Both join from other Wieden+Kennedy offices.

Colman joins the Tokyo office from W+K London, where he’s been leading Ford Europe across 19 markets, as well as and P&G’s Old Spice work in Europe. Prior to joining W+K, Colman led award-winning work at Mother London for brands including MoneySuperMarket, Uber Eats and IKEA. In 11+ years  in creative leadership roles, he has built a reputation for delivering culturally impactful, commercially effective work at scale, including the Prime Video series, Charge Around the Globe, and the global relaunch of Ford, with Ready Set Ford.

Thodey joins Tokyo from Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, where she spent 14 years as a brand business leader. In her previous role, she collaborated with a diverse group of clients across industries, such as Samsung Mobile, Ray-Ban, Instagram, LVMH, Meta, Duolingo, Airbnb, Corona, Milka and Netflix, tackling global communications challenges and everything from IPOs to groundbreaking tech launches across the US, Asia and Europe.

“David and El are exactly the kind of people you want leading a W+K office,” stated Karl Lieberman, global chief creative officer of Wieden+Kennedy. “They care about the work. They care about people. They’re talented as hell and they’re ambitious in all the right ways. I’ve seen David’s work up close in London, and even while leading the Ford Europebusiness and managing a very large team across 19 global markets, he still found ways to create work that didn’t feel ‘global’, but felt true and human instead.

“With any W+K office, we try to make sure we’re set up for the unique challenges of that market, versus taking our network and just transplanting it into a new place. That balance is everything, and it stems from our 42 years of independence. Tokyo has always been a place where local culture and global perspective collide in interesting ways. The goal is to build something that truly belongs there, and David and El are the right people to do it.”

To mark the announcement, W+K Tokyo created a “Tokyo baseball team” visual to symbolise a new era of collaboration, echoing the spirit of Japan’s most beloved sport and one of the office’s recent breakthrough creative efforts – the Hometown Heroes Manhole Covers for the MLB.

David Colman commented, “I’m very excited to be moving to Tokyo to join this brilliant team. There’s nowhere quite like it. The mix of Japanese and international perspectives here creates ideas no one else could come up with, which is exactly what great creativity needs. The best ideas never fit a mould. We adapt ourselves to the idea, not the other way around. In the new role, my focus will be on building more of that fearless, distinctive creativity with this new team by fostering an environment where ideas are at the center of everything W+K Tokyo does – from our business cards to the work we make for brands. I believe it’s possible to be human and kind in this business, while making the best work of our lives.”

Eleanor Thodey added, “Our mission in Tokyo is clear: we exist to work with brands in Asia and help them find their truth & unique voice. When you discover who you are as a brand, it gives you not just something to sell, but something to say. That’s how you build strong brands for the long-term. We’ve built a strong team that is deeply embedded in the creative culture thatoozes from every corner of this city, and has a track record of strategic and creative thinking that goes beyond media efficiency to deliver outsized impact. Having spent time growing up in Japan, it’s a privilege to once again call Tokyo home. I’m personally invested in helping grow the broader creative community in Japan.”

W+K Tokyo has a history of ideas that don’t fit the mould, including the Nike Music Shoe and Tinder’s Swipe Mart. The 2025 Hometown Heroes Manhole covers for Major League Baseball was a truly disruptive campaign, driving 49M USD in earned media globally, 25,000 new social followers and had over 136,000 people visiting the  manholes in real life, all achieved with zero paid media budget.

The agency also contributes to the local creative community through its Kennedy’s 青ケツ internship program, mentoring the next generation of creative minds in Japan, as well as The Weekend event series, which connects fashion, music, sports, and community through a cultural event and printed publication.