BBH Poaches AMV BBDO’S Grieve as Global Chief Creative Officer

The move also sees AMV promote Nadja Lossgott and Nicholas Hulley to chief creative officers

BBH has raided rival London shop AMV BBDO to hire its creative chief, Alex Grieve, as global and U.K. Chief Creative Officer.

Grieve replaces BBH worldwide creative chief Joakim «Jab» Borgström, who is stepping down without a job to go to. It’s the latest in a series of shakeups at BBH; in October, Global CEO Neil Munn departed as BBH appointed a new global board and announced a renewed focus on creativity.

As well as leading BBH’s creative output on a global scale, Grieve will also be chief creative officer of BBH London, the agency’s founding office, will co-chair the BBH Global Board with Annette King, CEO of Publicis Groupe UK, and will lead the BBH Creative Council.

The move sees Grieve return to BBH in April, after more than a decade away at AMV BBDO; he spent 14 years at the Publicis Groupe agency, from 1996-2010, before joining AMV BBDO as creative partner in 2011, initially working alongside his then creative partner Adrian Rossi. Promoted to chief creative officer in 2019, he has overseen a strong creative output, with the agency winning the Global Agency of the Year at Cannes, D&AD and The One Show in 2021 among other honors.

At AMV BBDO, Grieve will be replaced by Nadja Lossgott and Nicholas Hulley, the agency’s much-lauded executive creative directors, who now take the creative helm as joint chief creative officers. The pair are the creative force behind the agency’s award-winning work for Libresse, including «Blood Normal» and «WombPainStories,» which won four Grand Prix at Canneswon last year.

Sam Hawkey, chief executive officer at AMV BBDO, described the pair in a statement as «certainly the most talented and the most awarded of their generation, both creatively and effectively.»

«Not only that but they are kind, funny, and inspiring souls that everyone loves to work with,» Hawkey added. «So, elevating their creative potency and excellence to the agency’s senior management felt the natural and right thing to do for the agency’s future.»

Being asked to return to BBH was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down, said Grieve in a statement. To be able to pass on what I have learnt from the agency that taught me my craft is interesting. To work with talented and kind people is interesting. To be entrusted with a creative jewel and see if, together, we can make it sparkle even more brightly is interesting. And as John Hegarty famously said, ‘do interesting things and interesting things will happen.’

Annette King, Global Chair of the BBH Board and CEO of Publicis Groupe U.K., described Grieve in a statement as «one of the world’s most acclaimed and admired creatives and a forward-thinking leader who exudes humanity and warmth.»

Alex will work closely with the country leaders and creative departments to deliver world class, transformative creativity for our clients, she added. I’m delighted he’s decided to return to BBH and join me in chairing the Global Board for this exceptional agency.