• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, July 27, 2012

The North American operations of Ogilvy & Mather and JWT, both units of WPP, have rejiggered the management structure at their shopper and experiential marketing joint venture JWTAction.

Sheila Hartnett has been named to the new post of CEO of the venture and will retain her role as CEO OgilvyAction.

The venture partners also created the new post of general manager for JWTAction, which has been filled by Gail Kay, previously in charge of the venture’s Akron office.

Hartnett had jointly run the venture with Fred Bidwell, who sold the retail marketing-focused Malone Advertising to JWT in 2005. Malone Advertising became part of JWTAction when it was formed in 2010. Bidwell has retired from the agency to pursue other interests.

David Eastman, CEO of JWT North America and John Seifert, chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather North America, praised Hartnett's leadership in a joint statement, noting that she had "brought together teams across the agency to build and drive client growth."

Going forward, Hartnett stated, the venture will look to “better integrate the leadership, talent, and processes across the joint venture so we can continue to grow our business.”

Agencies have invested more on the retail marketing side of their businesses in recent years as consumers have increasingly used digital tools to become savvier shoppers. Around the time Ogilvy and JWT created JWTAction, Interpublic created Shopper Sciences, a unit of Mediabrands, and put retail veteran John Ross in charge.

Based in Akron, Ohio (where Malone Advertising was founded), JWTAction now has 560 employees in eight offices.

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