Hasta La Ideas

D&AD has announced the appointment of a new chief executive – ex Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam MD Tim O’Kennedy (above). What do you think his first task should be?

D&AD has been without a chief executive ever since Michael Hockney left under a cloud in March 2007. O’Kennedy comes in at a difficult time for the organisation as, in common with all awards bodies, it faces up to the consequences of the recession. There are also longer term challenges for D&AD in reconnecting with the design community, ensuring its relevance and combatting disenchantment with its global positioining among sectors of the UK ad industry .

The D&AD press info includes the following about O’Kennedy’s career to date: “O’Kennedy’s career began at Saatchi & Saatchi London in the early 1980s, following which he was hired by Jay Chiat as ‘one of the first Account Planners in the US advertising industry’.  Following 2 years at Wieden + Kennedy Portland steering the original ‘Just Do It’ campaign, he became International Marketing Director at Nike. O’Kennedy returned to Europe with Nike in 1994 and later joined The Lowe Group Europe as Chief Operating Officer.  He was a founding partner of marketing agency Circus in 1998 and subsequently became Managing Director at Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam, where he remained until the end of 2007. O’Kennedy currently serves as a non-executive director of digital creative agency Perfect Fools in Stockholm, and of communications agency Indie in Amsterdam.”

CR will be interviewing O’Kennedy at some point in the near future – we’d like to give you the chance to raise whatever concerns you have with D&AD with him. What does he need to do at D&AD? Should it be more British? Should it separate advertising and design? Should it stop doing the awards night? Take the annual online only? What should his priorities be?

Make your suggestions or put your questions in the comments section below and we will raise/ask as many of them as we can on your behalf.