Today, anomaly announces that John Rowe has been hired as Managing Director of the Anomaly Alliance. In this newly created global role, he will further expand Anomaly’s geographic reach, talent pool and capabilities through the Anomaly Alliance – a unique co-branded partnership model based on acquisition rather than “affiliation”. John will work closely with Anomaly’s founding partner and Chairman of the Board, Carl Johnson.
“John brings a rare set of world-class skills and experience that make him the perfect person for this role: President of a foreign agency, years of successful leadership of global brands, with strategic acuity, creative ambition and operational composure,” said Carl.
John will initially build on the momentum created by Anomaly Alliance’s acquisition of Paris-based digital branding and marketing consultancy What’s Next Partners (WNP) in February. This move marked Anomaly Alliance’s first acquisition, as WNP joined an existing network of Anomaly offices in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, Berlin and Shanghai.
John has over 20 years of experience building some of the world’s most recognized companies, with long tenures at Wieden + Kennedy (W+K) in Portland and Tokyo. When he joined W+K in 2005, he held senior account management roles for brands such as Starbucks, Heineken, Target, The Coca-Cola Company and Facebook before assuming the role of Managing Director in the Tokyo office. Under his leadership, W+K Tokyo nearly doubled in both revenue and headcount, and the office was named Campaign Japan/Korea Independent Agency of the Year three years in a row. Returning to Portland in a newly created role, John has spent the last five years managing W+K’s larger global relationships for companies such as Samsung, Meta and VISA.
“There is so much ambition here that it’s hard not to be excited,” said John. “Local freelancers want to be part of something bigger. Anomaly wants to expand its presence and capabilities. Customers are looking for a global partner they can trust. I’ve been there from the start.”
John will begin his role immediately and further acquisitions to strengthen the Anomaly Alliance with likeminded and ambitious independent agencies that excel in their respective markets will follow in the near future.
