Walnut UNLIMITED Appoints Chris Bland as Managing Director

Announced today, Walnut UNLIMITED, part of UNLIMITED, has promoted Chris Bland, the former board director at Walnut UNLIMITED, to managing director (MD). The appointment comes off the back of strong commercial growth driven by key strengths in neuroscience, behavioural science, qualitative research, and data analytics.

With over 18 years’ experience in research and business strategy, Chris will oversee the day-to-day running of the agency. In his role, Chris will focus on evolving Walnut UNLIMITED’s award-winning capabilities for clients; combining flexible tailored solutions to explain human decision making, with consultancy expertise to inform smarter brand strategies that drive behaviour change.

Chris takes over from Jane Rudling, who has been MD of Walnut UNLIMITED for four years. Bland will continue to report to her, and Jane will continue in her role as head of UNLIMITED’s Insights & Analytics division comprising of Walnut UNLIMITED and analytics and data science business Realise UNLIMITED. 

Jane will have a special focus on UNLIMITED’s Human Understanding Lab – a platform that provides human-centric analytics and insight across the brand experience journey, unlocking real business advantage for brands. 

Chris joined Walnut UNLIMITED in 2017, where he has been heading up several clients and driving the integration of behavioural science and neuroscience techniques into Walnut UNLIMITED’s approaches. Prior to Walnut, he held senior roles at agencies including Basis Research and Future Thinking. 

As part of his new role, Chris will continue to work alongside the wider insight capabilities within UNLIMITED including supporting and developing the Human Understanding Lab.  

Jane Rudling, head of UNLIMITED’s Insights & Analytics division said: “Chris provides excellent counsel, champions evolution, and lives our Human Understanding proposition every day. Not only is he the ideal person to lead this charge, both from a cultural and capability perspective, but he also goes above and beyond to ensure our clients communicate effectively with their customers – which is what Walnut UNLIMITED is all about.”

Chris Bland, managing director at Walnut UNLIMITED commented: “Throughout my career, Walnut UNLIMITED has been a trusted advisor for clients, but now is a particularly exciting time as we continually evolve our thinking and approaches to better understand what makes humans tick. I’m surrounded by incredibly knowledgeable, inquisitive and passionate people, and it is these ingredients that create amazing potential for Walnut UNLIMITED’s future.”