Saatchi & Saatchi Appoints Ruth Bates as First Chief Data Officer

Saatchi & Saatchi has today announced it has appointed Ruth Bates to chief data officer, a newly created role in the agency’s senior leadership team.

Ruth Bates, previously head of data arts at Saatchi & Saatchi and Publicis Groupe UK, will lead the agency’s ambition to use data to understand the complexities of the real world in which audiences, brands and ideas live, and implement those insights across its award-winning creative.

Building on six years of industry-leading data insights and research at Saatchi & Saatchi, Ruth Bates has developed the department and delivered a suite of methods and products that enable the agency to rapidly deliver insights for planning, creativity, and production. 

Ruth Bates’ appointment continues the agency's commitment to investing in and bolstering its industry-leading data and insight specialism. This includes Saatchi & Saatchi’s market-leading Data Arts offer, its unique programme designed to bridge the gap between consumer insight and creative output.

Ruth Bates will work closely with Richard Huntington, chair and chief strategy officer, to create and implement custom, agency-owned products and services that inject real-world audience insights into work for new and existing partners. She will also continue adding her expertise to Publicis Groupe’s portfolio of data-centric products.

Richard Huntington, chair and chief strategy officer, Saatchi & Saatchi says, “For six years, Ruth has been a secret weapon, shaping our data capabilities as an agency and as a Groupe. Now, she is not so secret. In creating this new position, we are not only recognising Ruth’s value to our work but also recognising that data arts have come of age at Saatchi & Saatchi.”

Ruth Bates, chief data officer, Saatchi & Saatchi says, “As consumers, our everyday experience is shaped by a complex ecosystem of data and algorithms. As advertisers, we need to live and breathe that complexity if we want our ideas to influence the real world. It’s exciting to be working alongside a leadership team committed to leveraging the full potential of data”.

Ruth Bates’ promotion follows a series of investments in Saatchi & Saatchi’s strategy discipline, with Sam Wise elevated to executive strategy director, Emily Lewis-Keane promoted to head of planning and James Addlestone appointed to take over as head of data arts. 

Ruth Bates reports into Saatchi & Saatchi’s chair and chief strategy officer, Richard Huntington.