Iva Welker, until recently the Client Service Director of VMLY&R creative communication agency, is assuming the role of the company’s Managing Director starting on 1 September 2021. Her current agenda will thus expand to include other key competences. Ondřej Obluk remains in the position of VMLY&R’s CEO while directing the Czech Ogilvy branch at the same time.
‘The fusion of the brand activation agency Geometry and the VMLY&R creative agency this January kick-started a period of transformation. Since then, we managed to turn these once separate agencies into a coherent team based on synergy and know-how sharing that has been able to cooperate efficiently on the preparation of several tenders’, says Ondřej Obluk.
The ranks of the agency’s leadership have since been bolstered by some crucial figures, with Miloš Kočí becoming the Creative Director, Tomáš Sýkora now occupying the post of Head Strategist and František Mareš heading one of the major client teams. ‘Iva has played a key role in handling this challenge, so we see the creation and appointment of the Managing Director’s position in our agency’s structure as the next logical step’, adds Obluk.
In her new role, Iva Welker will be responsible for business development, leading and supervising tenders, setting up collaboration across the agency’s teams, improvement of internal processes and seeking out opportunities for cross-selling within VMLY&R. She will become the Account Directors’ main consultant and will play a senior partnership role in strategic negotiations, launching new projects or crisis situations. Together with CEO Ondřej Obluk, she will work towards the agency’s long-term goals on the Czech market and will participate in creating the commercial strategy, as well as implementing it in collaboration with individual client team leaders.
Iva Welker is a seasoned professional with more than 20 years’ experience in the fields of communication and brand building with a strong focus on customer experience in commerce. She has worked for large multinational corporations operating on many European markets, as well as traditional local brands; examples include British American Tobacco, Mondelēz, Danone, Kofola, Emco, RunTour or Klasa. The success of her campaigns is evidenced by prestigious awards home and abroad – these include Cannes Lions, Effie, Clio Awards, or the Golden Drum. Iva also dedicates her energy to mentoring.