KBS+ Appoints Guy Hayward as Global CEO
KBS+ today announced the appointment of Guy Hayward as Global CEO. The announcement was made by Lori Senecal, Global Executive Chairman of KBS and President & CEO of the MDC Partner Network. As Global CEO, Hayward brings significant international experience to KBS and will help accelerate the agency’s development and growth worldwide. Hayward will oversee the entire KBS global stack across offices and specialisms, in New York, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, Toronto and Shanghai, helping the agency to deliver on its mission to invent highly creative marketing firsts for world class brands.
“Last year was the year we truly became a global company, adding significant talent in Europe and Asia through startups like KBS China and acquisitions like Albion London. As KBS continues to grow around the globe, Guy is the ideal internationalist to leverage this growing footprint and help all of our offices bring strong global perspective and world class creativity and invention to our clients,” said Senecal. “What I love about Guy is that his values clearly align with those we care about deeply at KBS. He’s an entrepreneur with a passion for building standout companies, and he’s always had a creative first mindset. We are confident he will aggressively drive KBS to become the most inventive global agency as our growth continues around the world.”
Over the past two decades, Hayward has worked for several of the industry’s preeminent creative agencies with a focus on international expansion. Most recently, he served as Global Development Director at BETC Worldwide and was responsible for building the BETC network in Paris, London and Brazil while overseeing global clients, including Mondelez International, Bacardi Global, and Diet Coke Europe. In his new role, Hayward will work closely with KBS’s executive leadership team, reporting into Senecal, to deepen the agency’s standing as a major global communications agency.
“I am thrilled to step into this role. I love the energy and mission of KBS, and I’m excited to work with Lori, the leadership team and MDC to continue to build KBS into a significant global agency,” Hayward said. “KBS’s range of capabilities make it one of the most modern creative forces in the business. The agency produces truly seamless communications for its clients and now, with the recent global expansion, is able to do this on a global scale. Albion in London is the perfect European partner for the agency and the start-up in Shanghai is led by high-profile Chinese talent. It’s an incredibly exciting time for the agency, and I’m delighted to be a part of the team.”
Guy has extensive experience in building creative agencies globally. In the mid-nineties, he was part of Wieden + Kennedy’s early global growth, working on Nike, Microsoft and Coca-Cola in their Amsterdam office. In 1998, together with his W & K colleagues Chris Mendola, Alex Melvin and Larry Frey, he founded 180. Famous for his global work for adidas, the agency grew to be nearly 200 people in Amsterdam and 50 in Santa Monica before Guy left in 2009 to become CEO of JWT UK. In 2012, he moved to Paris to join BETC.
