September 30, 2021:  Ogilvy announced today that Patou Nuytemans will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer of Ogilvy EMEA. Patou will be responsible for driving all aspects of Ogilvy’s business across Europe, the Middle East and Africa which spans Public Relations, Growth & Innovation, Advertising, Health, and Experience. She takes over for Paul O’Donnell, who will continue serving in his role as Regional Chairman and partner closely with Patou. Headshots available here.

Andy Main, Global CEO of Ogilvy, said: “Anyone who has had the chance to work with Patou will tell you that she not only fosters a culture of creative, strategic and operational excellence, but also leads with empathy and compassion. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated how Ogilvy can drive business-changing, life-changing impact when we create and innovate at the intersection of our world-class capabilities and talent. I could not think of a more qualified leader to drive growth for our clients in the region, nor a better partner to our global leadership team as we take Ogilvy into the future. I am also very grateful that we will continue to benefit from Paul’s leadership, experience, and expertise in his continued capacity as EMEA Chairman. His contributions to Ogilvy over his 30 years with the company are far-reaching.”

Patou Nuytemans said: “I couldn’t be more excited about taking up this next challenge with the agency that I grew up in and love, especially at this time. While the last 18 months have been difficult in so many ways for so many people, it has also been a period of incredible transformation, digital innovation and focus on what matters. There is hence so much opportunity to accelerate not only how we bring our talent together across our network in a future-fit, diverse and inspiring work environment, but also how we adopt new powerful skills to make and deliver ideas. The power of Ogilvy’s borderless creativity is unleashed when we work at the intersection of our capabilities to drive business and societal impact, that’s what I look forward continuing to make Ogilvy famous for—working closely with everyone from Cape Town to Stockholm and beyond.”

Paul O’Donnell said: “Patou is a truly modern, inspirational leader, who has a proven track record of building and developing high-performing teams, while championing the power of creativity. It has been wonderful to have a front row seat to the impact Patou has had in each role she’s had throughout the region and our global network. I am looking forward to continuing to partner with her to drive growth for our people and clients across EMEA.”

Since joining Ogilvy in Belgium in 1993, Patou has steadily risen through the ranks of Ogilvy, taking on management roles of increasing responsibility. She has worked on three continents across a broad range of disciplines, categories, and clients. Her multi-discipline expertise has helped her serve as a leading contributor to Ogilvy's global digital strategy, integrating the group’s digital capabilities across the network.

Before being named Global Chief Growth Officer for Ogilvy Growth & Innovation in January, Patou served as CEO of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for four years, where she grew Memac Ogilvy financially, operationally and reputationally—transforming a network of 11 agencies into an integrated, efficient, modern marketing agency with an unparalleled new business track record, high client satisfaction and a true talent and people-first culture. Notably, Patou was handpicked by Eddie Moutran, founder of Memac Ogilvy to succeed him as CEO. 

Prior to her appointment as CEO of MENA, Patou combined her role of EMEA Chief Digital Officer with that of CEO Ogilvy & Social.Lab Brussels, to oversee the network roll-out of this leading-edge social media performance capability that was acquired under her leadership and became one of our fastest growing offers globally. As Chief Digital Officer, a role she had for over 15 years, she played a pivotal role in developing and implementing the strategy that transformed Ogilvy into a digital-age agency group and led numerous digital transformation projects for some of the world’s leading brands, including British Airways, IBM, IKEA, Nespresso, Nestlé, Philips, Unilever, Vodafone, and many more.