Innocean scouts British ad expert as chief creative officer

By Lee Hyo-sik

Jeremy Craigen

Innocean Worldwide, an advertizing unit of Hyundai Motor Group, said Tuesday it has hired a British national with 30-years experience in advertizing as its new global chief creative officer (CCO).

Jeremy Craigen will coordinate its global ad operations spanning 17 countries and attract new clients abroad.

Craigen, born in 1963, is a well-known figure in the advertizing industry, receiving nearly 1,000 awards in major international contests.

From 2012 through 2015, he served as a global chief brand manager for German automaker Volkswagen. He also worked at Budweiser, Sony, American Airlines and other multinational firms, responsible for managing their brand and advertizing operations.

“We scouted Craigen for our newly-established post of global chief creative officer,” a company spokesman said. “His main task is to build an organic network among Innocean’s 22 offices across the globe to produce high-quality output in a sustainable and coordinated manner.”

Over the past 10 years, the company has selected one creative director for each region. But it decided to hire a global CCO to more effectively coordinate its rapidly-expanding global business.

“Craigen will reorganize our international operation to make it more agile and performance-oriented,” the spokesman said. “He will first begin working at the company headquarters in Seoul and then rotate around the United States, Europe and China. He will also lead our ongoing efforts to improve customer services and secure new clients.”

Craigen said he will do everything he can to improve the quality of Innocean’s creative output and expand its business. “Unparalleled leadership and ambitious vision will propel Innocean to become a globally competitive advertizing firm,” he was quoted as saying.

Innocean, founded in 2005, has a presence in 17 countries, employing 1,600 people. At a ceremony to mark its 10th anniversary on May 17, the company unveiled a plan to emerge as a top-tier advertizing agency by 2025.