Freya Williams Joins Revolt North America as Chief Strategy Officer

Above: Kirsten Flanik, CEO Revolt North America (left) and Freya Williams, newly named chief strategy officer Revolt North America (right)

Photo Credit: Billy Siegrist

Freya Willaims has joined Revolt, a creative global consultancy, in the new role of chief strategy officer for North America. She joins full-time this month and will report to Kirsten Flanik, who was named CEO of Revolt North America, part of Anthesis Group, last summer.  Freya had previously served in an advisory role. Prior to Revolt, Freya was CEO at Futerra North America, a sustainability and impact strategy and creative consultancy.

Said Kirsten, “Throughout her career, Freya has been a passionate leader, driven by a personal mission to demonstrate that positive impact is a business imperative for brand growth.  Both entrepreneurial and corporate, she knows how to convert brand purpose into brand performance - a business acumen that has made her a trusted advisor to many Fortune 500 leaders.”  She added, “As transformation specialists, Revolt and Anthesis’ collective reason for being is to help clients navigate the opportunities and obligations that the new era of purpose presents. Freya’s proven track record helping to build sustainable performance strategies from the ground up are precisely what we need as we look to accelerate a thriving North America business.”

With a career that spans more than two decades in sustainability marketing practices, Freya has done it all. She started out as a strategist in a consultancy to the media business. She spent 18 years at Ogilvy where she was named a senior partner and group planning director working with clients like Coca-Cola, SC Johnson and Unilever. While there, Freya co-founded OgilvyEarth, one of the first sustainability and impact practices in the business. After Ogilvy, she led the CSR, social purpose and sustainability practice at Edelman Public Relations before being named CEO at Futerra North America and pursuing her own consultancy service.  

Freya is a subject matter expert and author of “Green Giants: How Smart Companies Turn Sustainability Into Billion-Dollar Businesses,” which serves as a blueprint for a new way of creating long-term value. Her proven track record includes a Cannes Lion for marketing excellence and David Ogilvy Award for innovation in market research, along with developing award-winning campaigns on behalf of the United Nations, Women’s Equality Center and Earthjustice. And, now, she becomes the first-ever chief strategy officer at Revolt North America.

“The world has changed and purpose needs to change with it. There has never been a better time for brands with a clearly defined purpose, because they will stand in contrast to those that fluctuate like a pendulum depending on the moment,” said Freya, adding, “In this moment, there is huge potential in new issues, new framing, new messengers and new narratives to connect in ways that resonate with where American culture is now. I look forward to helping Kirsten and the entire team at Revolt keep pace with these evolving priorities.”