Ogilvy names Camilla Clerke global creative lead for Unilever

Ogilvy has hired Camilla Clerke as global executive creative director for Unilever as a replacement for the departing Dan Fisher.

Clerke is currently executive creative director at Ogilvy in South Africa but will be moving to London to take up her new role, in which she will be responsible for “defining, shaping and driving the creative vision for Ogilvy’s work on Unilever’s portfolio brands”. She will report to Liz Taylor, Ogilvy’s global chief creative officer.

Clerke starts on 1 September. Fisher, who is moving to become global chief creative officer at Ogilvy’s boutique agency Ingo, will continue to be involved in the Unilever business during a transition period.

Clerke will work with Nadia Katsiouli, who was appointed global client lead for Unilever in April to replace Jo Bacon. She is also based in London and was previously WPP’s worldwide managing director for Milka and Halls.

Bacon left in February to join M&C Saatchi as chief executive.

In turn, Katsiouli and Clerke join Zoe Hamilton, who was hired as global chief strategy officer for Unilever in January. She was previously global strategy partner for Dove at Ogilvy.

Taylor said: “Camilla embodies modern creativity. Incredibly strategic, wildly imaginative, with an unbelievable work ethic and a fearless but compassionate attitude that endears her to all. 

“She has a knack for seeing where problems are, finding a way in, and motivating human behaviour beyond where it contentedly stands. It’s what makes her so perfect to lead our collaborations with Unilever – known for some of the biggest, boldest, most beautiful campaigns our industry produces. We share a storied history with Unilever, most especially Dove, and Camilla is just the person to launch a new decade of doing the best work of our lives with them.”

Born and raised in Cape Town, Clerke has worked on brands including Carling Black Label and Castle Lager, on campaigns that tackled gender-based violence and promoted bread made from beer byproducts, respectively.

She has been with Ogilvy for three and a half years and before this spent about a decade with IPG. Clerke was with HelloFCB+ for just over two years as ECD and prior to this spent eight years at Hellocomputer.

Clerke said: “I have long admired Unilever for its creative excellence and for showcasing how brave, bold ideas can make a true impact not only on business, but society.

“On a personal note, Dove’s ongoing challenge of conventional beauty standards has deeply impacted me – and I’m ready to bring my best, authentic self forward in service of Unilever and its brands.”

Katsiouli has been with Ogilvy since 2012, leading WPP’s Mondelez team for the Milka and Halls brands since 2020.

She said: "Having the opportunity to work with Unilever and their iconic, global brands has always been an aspiration.”