Industry Veteran Graham Ritchie Named Chief Strategy Officer at Hill Holliday

Industry Veteran Graham Ritchie Named Chief Strategy Officer at Hill Holliday

Award-Winning Creative Strategist Brings Global View, Multi Category Experience and Proven Track Record to the Momentum-Fueled IPG Shop

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hill Holliday CEO Karen Kaplan announced today that veteran strategist and brand planner Graham Ritchie has joined Hill Holliday as Chief Strategy Officer, effective immediately.

Graham Ritchie, Chief Strategy Officer, Hill Holliday photo by Dan Cabral

Ritchie will report to Kaplan and serve on the senior leadership team established by Kaplan when she became CEO in May of 2013, consisting of Chief Creative Officer Lance Jensen, Managing Directors Leslee Kiley and Kerry Benson, Chief Media Officer Cindy Stockwell, Marketing Director Chris Wallrapp, Chief Human Resources Officer Ruthanne Russell and Chief Financial Officer Steve Andrews.

Ritchie is a highly respected industry leader in planning, creativity and effectiveness, with a collection of Cannes Lions, Effies, Pencils and Clios to his credit. Most recently he was Managing Partner for Publicis Mojo Group, Australia and New Zealand, responsible for managing client groups, leading strategy and driving growth for the agency. During his tenure, Mojo was one of the most creatively recognized and respected agencies in the world and Ritchie was instrumental in building Mojo's reputation and influencing its award-winning work.

His extensive and diverse portfolio includes beer, energy drinks, consumer packaged goods, airlines, and mobile with such brands as Coke, Virgin Mobile, Nestle, Lion Nathan, Qantas, Cadbury and international food giant Goodman Fielder. Ritchie's work for Coca-Cola won bronze at Cannes in 2011, while his strategic leadership of the Lion Nathan beer campaign took gold at Cannes in 2012.

"We took our time to conduct a thorough global search to fill the important role of Chief Strategy Officer," said Kaplan. "In recruiting for this key position, it was critical that we identify someone whose values and vision match our own. We found that in Graham Ritchie, a top-notch creative strategist to lead our planning group who knows what great work looks like and who knows what it takes to make great work happen. He's an inspired leader, a big thinker, and a true team player."

Ritchie began his career at Publicis Mojo in 1992 in Auckland and rose through the ranks, holding senior positions at Mojo Melbourne and Sydney before becoming a founding partner of Nonstop Partners in 1999, a position he held until 2004. He rejoined Mojo in 2004 as Head of Planning for the Sydney office, and subsequently assumed leadership for key clients across Australia and New Zealand.

"Hill Holliday has great achievements and even greater ambitions, which is why I couldn't be happier to join the leadership team," said Ritchie. "The agency truly represents the best of inspired leadership, relentless innovation and top-notch work. They are home to some fantastic brands that I will be privileged to help create work for. I came to Hill Holliday to be part of something extraordinary. I can't wait to get started."

Hill Holliday was recently ranked the 14th largest advertising agency in the U.S. by Advertising Age, the only New England agency to make the top 25. The agency was named Media magazine's full service Agency of the Year for 2011 and 2012, and is the only agency to win Adweek's Media Plan of the Year four years in a row. Most recently Hill Holliday was named lead creative and strategic agency for Cadillac. The win is in addition to several new business wins in the past two months, including DressBarn, TripAdvisor, and classic candy brand Necco. Recent campaigns include Bank of America's "Life's Better When We're Connected." In May 2013, thirty year Hill Holliday veteran Karen Kaplan was named CEO, becoming the third CEO in the agency's 45-year history.

About Hill Holliday
Hill Holliday is proud to be among the top marketing agencies in the country, with 950 employees in Boston, New York, Detroit, South Carolina, and Miami. We work on some of the nation's largest, most demanding, and complicated pieces of business, and our success came by taking nothing for granted. We were founded in 1968 by four self-described "ad guys" and today we bring unbeatable talent and expertise to every area of communications on behalf of industry leaders like Cadillac, Verizon Wireless, Bank of America, Liberty Mutual, Dunkin' Donuts, (RED), Major League Baseball, John Hancock, Chili's, CIGNA, and Novartis. For more about our people, our work, and our culture, please visit http://www.hhcc.com.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130808006265/en/

Hill Holliday
Tracy Brady, 617-366-4099
Tracy.brady@hhcc.com

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