JWT Atlanta Appoints New Chief Creative Officer

J. Walter Thompson Atlanta announced today the appointment of Vann Graves as Chief Creative Officer, effective immediately.

Spence Kramer, CEO of J. Walter Thompson Atlanta, welcomes Vann as a partner to join him in the challenge of building the best creative department in Atlanta and creating groundbreaking work that attracts talent and clients alike. The pair aligns on the importance of Diversity & Inclusion, hard-hitting creative experiences and content production as an effective tool for achieving client business goals. 

“Vann is a creative force in the industry, and we’re incredibly excited to have him join us at J. Walter Thompson,” said Kramer, who has been meticulous in the hunt for a CCO since he joined the company in March of this year. “Vann and I have discussed at length our vision for the agency and its future, and there’s no doubt he’ll help us continue to define and exceed our goals.”

Most recently, Graves served as CCO at FL+G, a full-service agency in Chattanooga. 

Prior to Tennessee, Graves worked in New York for more than 20 years at BBDO and McCann, serving as VP, Creative Director, and EVP, Global Executive Creative Director, respectively. During his tenure, Graves developed commanding brand identities for clients like Lockheed Martin, M&M’s, MasterCard and American Airlines. 

On top of creative and executive leadership experience, Graves brings active-duty military experience to J. Walter Thompson Atlanta — something that resonates with the office that has supported the United States Marine Corps for nearly 70 years. 

“Of course, I am incredibly impressed by Vann’s creative work. But perhaps the thing that impressed me most was his approach to leadership,” said Matt Eastwood, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer, J. Walter Thompson Worldwide. “His leadership style has undoubtedly been influenced by his military experience. He has developed as a leader whose only desire is to truly bring out the best in his team. Combine that with his creative ambition, and you have a winning recipe.”

Graves said he’s also looking forward to tapping into the momentum of the city of Atlanta as a growing destination for film, cultural diversity and technology. 

“Together with Spence, I want to build on J. Walter Thompson’s longstanding history of creative excellence and create an agency culture that puts great creative at the center of everything we do,” said Graves. “At the end of the day, it's all about the work. Great work is what our clients expect, and our work is what we’ll be judged on.”