The independent agency BarkleyOKRP, which has spent recent years assembling itself from previously separate parts, has hired Brandon Cooke as its global chief marketing and growth officer, a position that comes with the considerable task of following someone who held it for nearly thirty years.
Mr. Cooke, who served most recently as chief marketing officer at FCB, will succeed Jason Parks, who announced his retirement after what the agency described as an extended tenure in the role. (Three decades is, by the standards of an industry where job changes are measured in dog years, something closer to a geological era.)
Katy Hornaday, the chief executive of BarkleyOKRP, said in an interview that Mr. Cooke's responsibilities would be "firmly centered around helping clients," with the head of client experience reporting directly to him. She added that he would be charged with charting "thoughtful" growth for the agency — a modifier that suggests, perhaps, a preference for the deliberate over the frenetic.
The appointment also reflects the blurring of traditional agency boundaries. Mr. Cooke will join what BarkleyOKRP calls its "integrated leadership team," meaning his purview will extend beyond conventional client acquisition to include growth opportunities for technology platforms the agency is developing. What those platforms are, exactly, the agency did not specify.
BarkleyOKRP, for those keeping track, was formed from the combination of Barkley, the Kansas City shop, and OKRP, the Chicago agency, in a 2022 merger that created one of the larger independent agencies in the country. It remains outside the holding company structure, which in the current environment is either a point of pride or a strategic vulnerability, depending on whom you ask.
Mr. Cooke begins his new role with a mandate that sounds simple enough on paper: grow, but thoughtfully. The industry will be watching to see what that looks like in practice.
Original story published in adweek.com: "Brandon Cooke Joins BarkleyOKRP to Drive 'Thoughtful' Growth"