LONDON — Ogilvy has appointed a creative strategy officer for the UK and EMEA, hiring Golin’s Charlie Coney into the newly-created role to bring “strategy and creative closer together across the region,” according to the agency.

Coney was at Golin for 14 years, latterly as executive creative director for the US West Coast region. He had previously been head of creative for Golin London and EMEA. Coney has also worked in-house, as consumer PR director at eBay.

In his new role, Coney will lead an eight-strong creative strategy team in London, including creative director Andrew Soar – who joined Ogilvy in 2018 from Manifest – and strategy lead Andrew Lopez, who has been with the agency for nine years. The team will work as part of the Ogilvy creative community in the UK, EMEA and globally.

Ogilvy recently announced it had promoted Nicola Dodd to UK director of PR, after elevating Matt Buchanan to global head of consumer PR in July. Buchanan said: “I’ve wanted to work with Charlie for years and I’m delighted that with his return to the UK from the US, we’ve managed to finally make it happen.

"At Golin London, Charlie built the creative and strategy function from the ground up and led a team of strategists, copywriters, makers, creatives and developers to deliver breakthrough thinking and creative for clients. His experience across a mix of brands, categories and channels makes him a true all-rounder who is hugely respected by clients and colleagues alike. I know he’ll add a lot of value to our business here in the UK, EMEA and globally.”

Ogilvy PR global chief creative officer Lisa Bright, who joined the agency in March this year from FCB Chicago, added: “Charlie is outstanding talent and we’re delighted to have him join the Ogilvy global creative community. He shares our ethos of borderless creativity and will bring a renewed focus on earned creative excellence, not just in PR but also through the exciting creative opportunities that exist where craft and disciplines intersect.”

Coney said: “There aren’t many agencies that match Ogilvy’s brand recognition, reputation and strategic and creative firepower - when I started my career it was the first agency I really wanted to join. There’s a ton of potential in combining my earned-first global experience with their extensive strategic and creative talent - and I’m excited to see how far we can push things.”