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← Back to IdeasOgilvy committed to the future. New Group Board pools expertise within the group and focuses on strong agency brands.
Frankfurt, 3. December 2025 – Ogilvy Group Germany is restructuring its management and will be consolidating key functions in a newly appointed Group Board starting in the new year. The Board will be led by Chris Jungjohann, CEO of the Group, and Armin Jochum, Executive Chairman of the Group. The board’s task is to manage the group’s agencies, strengthen cooperation within the group, drive forward AI transformation, lay the foundations for further growth, and further expand the group’s claim to a leading position in the market. The strategic and creative independence of the individual agency brands Ogilvy, thjnk, loved, Social.Lab, and Grey will be retained.
The new board of Ogilvy Group Germany will consolidate key functions such as finance, operations, people, and growth at the group level.
Karin Helfer, who most recently served as Managing Director and Vice President of Operations EMEA at VICE Media, will take over the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO). She will be responsible for group-wide operational business and the resulting operations, shared processes, tools, and resourcing. Horst Wagner, former COO of thjnk, is leaving to pursue a career in consulting.
Alessa Thönnessen is the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Ogilvy Group Germany. She comes from BBDO Germany, where she also served as CFO, and will merge the finance departments of the agency brands and take over the financial management of the agency group. Alessa succeeds Helmut Hechler, who is retiring but will continue to support the agency group in a non-executive role.
The Group Board is completed by existing executives: Maximilian Weiss, as Chief Growth Officer, is responsible for the growth of the group and its agencies together with his team. Nina Kumpovic, as Chief People Officer, has overall responsibility for human resources and cultural issues.
COO Karin Helfer: “My goal is to create operational excellence that benefits all agency brands. Smooth processes and efficient working methods—powered by WPP Open, our AI-based operating system—are the foundation on which outstanding creativity can emerge and flourish. I look forward to shaping this framework for the group and the agencies.”
CFO Alessa Thönnessen on her role: “I couldn’t imagine a better time to join the Ogilvy Group. In a phase of continuous transformation, creative excellence requires modern, holistic financial management in order to offer clients maximum added value and develop talent optimally. I am very much looking forward to working with great people and contributing to the future viability of the Ogilvy Group Germany.”
“I am extremely pleased to have gained two outstanding executives and great personalities in Karin and Alessa. They bring exactly what we want for the future. With the new structure and this excellently staffed board, we are creating the ideal conditions to make the most of the commonalities of our strong agency brands while promoting their individual creative excellence,” said Chris Jungjohann, CEO of Ogilvy Group Germany. “Bundling finance, operations, people, and growth at the group level enables us to manage the group’s agencies in a targeted manner, act quickly, and focus on delivering first-class work for our clients within the agencies.”
For clients, the new structure means they can continue to rely on the specialized, creative excellence of the individual agency brands – Ogilvy, thjnk, loved, Social.Lab, and Grey. At the same time, they benefit from the combined strength and collaboration of the group, which has grown to more than 700 employees, enabling seamless access to a broader range of integrated end-to-end solutions.
Executive Chairman of Ogilvy Group Germany and thjnk CEO Armin Jochum: “With our partnership merger, we have brought a completely new offering to the German market, which has been impressively proven in the current fiscal year. I am really proud that we have been able to recruit two top managers, Alessa and Karin, to our board to consistently pursue our growth path. I would like to thank Horst Wagner for his outstanding contribution to the digital and structural transformation of the thjnk Group – and for his particularly cooperative and cordial manner of working together. Let’s keep going!"
The realignment of the group’s management and structure is primarily a strategic move to strengthen the position of its own agency brands, but it is also a consistent, forward-looking response to the changing market environment. By focusing on collaboration, integration, and forward-looking topics such as the use of WPP Open, the Ogilvy Group in Germany is underlining its ambition to play a leading role in the communications industry and its transformation.
Ogilvy Group Germany press office
Ogilvy GmbH, Darmstädter Landstraße 112, 60598 Frankfurt, Germany
Telephone: +49 172 6878986 | presse@ogilvy.com | LinkedIn: Ogilvy Group Germany