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Ogilvy appoints Carol Reed as Global Chief Innovation Officer
Advertising veteran joins to drive human-first innovation in an AI-powered world.
MUMBAI: Carol Reed has found a new creative canvas and this time, she’s bringing her innovation brush to one of advertising’s most iconic names. Ogilvy Group has appointed Carol Reed as its new global chief innovation officer. Reed, who previously served as Chief Innovation Officer at WPP Open X, brings deep expertise at the intersection of creativity, technology, media, and commerce.
In a note announcing her move, Reed said she was drawn to Ogilvy because of its unmatched legacy. “The most powerful thing AI can do is make human creativity more extraordinary not replace it,” she stated. “This is an agency with something no algorithm can replicate, a 78-year legacy of ideas that change culture and drive real business results.”
Reed will focus on building new products, platforms, and partnerships to amplify Ogilvy’s creative heritage for clients and its global talent network. She will work closely with Global CEO Laurent Ezekiel and global chief creative officer Liz Taylor.
Her career began at Publicis Groupe’s Digitas as an associate media planner. She later moved to Omnicom Media Group and rose to senior vice president and programmatic lead at Digitas, where she built an in-house programmatic team of over 40 members. Most recently, at WPP, she served as executive vice president for data and product marketing.
With her appointment, Ogilvy strengthens its innovation leadership as the industry navigates rapid advancements in AI and technology.
From building programmatic teams to championing human creativity in an AI era, Carol Reed has consistently stayed ahead of the curve. Her arrival at Ogilvy signals a fresh push to blend cutting-edge innovation with the agency’s legendary creative spirit.
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Talking heads: TV9’s chief takes the host’s chair with style — but could do with a laugh
Barun Das has swapped the boardroom for the studio and is pulling off a polished interview show — mostly
MUMBAI: There is something quietly audacious about a media chief who decides that running a television empire is not quite enough and plants himself in front of the camera for a good chinwag with the great and the good. Barun Das, chief executive of TV9 Network, has done precisely that, and for the most part, he carries it off with considerable aplomb.
Duologue with Barun Das, now in its fourth season on JioHotstar, is exactly what it says on the tin: two people, two chairs, no frills. In the earlier seasons, Das has sat across from a rather stellar roster, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Aparna Sen, Viswanathan Anand, Kiran Rao, among many other renowned names. And in the fourth instalment he has had guests of the likes of Aamir Khan, Sourav Ganguly, Bianca Balti (Italian super model and cancer survivor), Lothar Matthäus (German football World Cup-winning captain). Throughout, he has coaxed from them nuggets that their publicists would probably rather keep under wraps. Cricket, relationships, spirituality, acting, health, behind-the-scenes machinations that plague politics, intellect, nepotism, nothing is entirely off the table.
Das’s greatest asset is his manner. Unhurried, well-dressed and disarmingly calm, he has the rare gift of making his guests feel so thoroughly at ease that they occasionally forget they are being filmed for television. The questions arrive softly, like a spinner tossing up a googly rather than a fast bowler hurling bouncers, and more often than not, they draw out a telling answer. He has no cue cards or teleprompter to help him along, which is probably a rarity for a host. Some credit must go to the research team operating quietly in the wings, who evidently do their homework so that Das does not have to fumble for his.
Where Duologue stumbles, however, is in its almost determined refusal to lighten up. Each 45-minute episode carries the solemn weight of a budget speech. A dash of wit, a moment of mischief, the odd belly laugh, none of it makes an appearance. Serious conversation has its place, but even the most earnest of interviewers, think David Frost at his best, knew when to let the air out of the room.
Das has built something worth watching. He simply needs to remind himself, and his guests, that a smile never hurt anyone.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5.
Available on JioHotstar.
