Outgoing CEO Becky Chidester announces her retirement
Wunderman Thompson today announces the appointment of Patrick Wisnom as Global CEO of Wunderman Thompson Health. Patrick succeeds outgoing CEO Becky Chidester who will retire this summer after 32 years at WPP.
With over 20 years of global agency experience, Patrick has a proven track record of building brands and leading teams across disciplines and geographies. He has worked for leading agencies including Deutsch New York and WPP-owned Grey, spending most of his career focused on healthcare with clients such as Pfizer, Novartis, GSK and J&J. A self-described ‘agitator’ for health equity, Patrick has a specific passion for helping clients look for meaningful ways to impact the disparity in health that plagues so many communities in the US and worldwide. He also leads WPP’s partnership with other holding companies and consumer agencies to inspire the industry to foster a culture of collaboration when it comes to sharing information that will lead to building a more diverse and inclusive workforce.
Becky retires after a momentous career of over three decades which has spanned politics, relationship marketing, digital, and healthcare. Becky started her WPP career in Washington, DC where she oversaw the transformation of a regionally focused political communications agency into a nationally recognised CRM leader. She joined Wunderman as COO of the New York office and was subsequently elevated to President, becoming the first women on Wunderman’s executive team. In this role, she launched Women@Wunderman, which developed into Pass It On, to strengthen the agency’s commitment to developing more women in leadership roles. Becky was the founder of Wunderman Health, and with a focus on integrating creativity and data, went on to build Wunderman Thompson Health into a global division that services Fortune 50 clients such as GSK, Pfizer, Janssen and Boehringer Ingelheim.
Wunderman Thompson Global CEO Mel Edwards says: “With her strong track record in breaking health inertia to inspire action, Becky has made a tremendous contribution to Wunderman Thompson Health, turning the capability into one of the largest growth engines in the network. I want to thank her for her dedication over the years and wish her all the best in her retirement. I have no doubt Patrick will approach this position with the same vision he has brought to his role leading J&J, and continue to unlock growth opportunities for companies across the healthcare spectrum.”
On his appointment, Patrick comments: “I’m delighted to take on the role as Global CEO of Wunderman Thompson Health. As a long-time proponent of personalised marketing, Becky has been passionate about the power of combining creativity, data, science, and technology to inspire audiences and help them overcome inertia and change behaviour to ultimately improve health outcomes. I am excited by the opportunity to continue her legacy of driving growth for our suite of ambitious health and life science brands.”
Becky added: “Over three decades, WPP has given me the opportunity to work with, and learn from, world class thought leaders within the organisation as well as clients who have literally saved or restored the lives of countless people across the globe. It has truly been an honour to work with such incredibly talented people and to help empower people to make better healthcare choices. I look forward to seeing all that the Wunderman Thompson Heath team will continue to achieve, and the ways they will continue to transform the world of health.
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