Global News Post Fastest Global News Portal
Related Articles
From Kansas to Cannes, the VML CEO’s adventure blends AI, transformation and heartland values – now positioning him as a human-first chief and doable successor to Mark Read.
Jon Cook isn’t simply some other world CEO breezing thru Cannes. He’s pitching, webhosting, reconnecting with purchasers – and, in a becoming twist, about to proportion a degree with Wicked director Jon M Chu to speak storytelling, logo reinvention and The Wizard of Oz. Not as a gimmick, however as a philosophy.
But Cook isn’t borrowing metaphors. He’s residing one.
“Everyone remembers the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow – heart, courage, brains,” he says. “But Dorothy was home. That’s what we try to be.”
Want to head deeper? Ask The Drum
It’s now not only a degree line. VML, the company Cook has helped transform an international community, nonetheless runs out of Kansas City, within the common area the place the Wizard of Oz was once set. He nonetheless lives there. Still sounds love it. And whilst the industry spans continents and purchasers, from Ford to Coca-Cola, Cook’s take is that luck isn’t outlined by means of the place you might be. It’s outlined by means of who you might be.
“There was a time when we tried to bring Kansas City to the world,” he says. “Now, we just try to respect where people are from. We’re not New York-first or London-first. We’re human-first.”
That mantra, human-first, comes up so much. It shapes how Cook talks about tradition, about generation and particularly about AI.
“AI’s not a trend. It’s the backdrop now. But the next six months will be about separation. Who’s using it for real impact? Who’s still in demo mode? The talk tracks have all sounded the same. The rubber’s about to hit the road.”
Cook says AI is forcing the business right into a section of simplification – and that it’s lengthy past due.
“You’re going to see holding companies, networks, even clients make big moves to simplify – structures, staffing, everything. It’s not just about efficiency. It’s about clarity.”
VML has already been thru that fireplace. After merging with Wunderman Thompson 18 months in the past, it has emerged streamlined, built-in and arguably WPP’s most powerful company logo.
“Mergers are easy to announce,” he says. “Doing them right is a whole other thing. You’ve got to protect your culture, align your leadership and keep moving. That’s hard. But we did it.”
It has paid off. VML’s paintings now stretches from Cannes Lions Grand Prix-winning creativity for KitKat to deep platform paintings with Nestlé and Ford. One standout instance? ‘Feel the Belt,’ a product innovation from Ford co-developed with a VML inventive present process breast most cancers remedy. The thought? An open-sourced padded seatbelt for survivors. It wasn’t simply useful, it was once non-public.
“That one means a lot,” says Cook. “It’s a product idea, a technology idea – but it’s really a human idea. And that’s the whole point.”
The company’s human-first style blends logo, buyer enjoy and trade beneath one roof – a construction that Cook says is much less about jargon and extra about staying related.
“Our goal isn’t to be the most awarded agency. It’s to be the most relevant. If you’re relevant to people, the rest follows.”
Still, this Cannes isn’t with regards to appearing off VML’s newest paintings. There’s some other subplot within the air: WPP boss Mark Read is on his manner out and many now see Cook as the most obvious interior contender.
His supporters would say he led one in all WPP’s maximum a hit integrations. He has retained ability and constructed a tradition. He has scaled globally with out dropping the company’s soul. And he’s evidence that the most productive companies don’t want to be run out of Manhattan or Mayfair. They can come from the center of the map and nonetheless make it to the highest of the arena.
“I think that’s what Kansas taught us,” he says. “Appreciation. Gratitude. Don’t take your clients or your people for granted. And don’t forget the reason you got into the business in the first place.”
As for what’s subsequent, Cook is urging CMOs to look 2026 for what it in point of fact is: a unprecedented probability to reset.
“You’ve got the US World Cup, the midterms and the country’s 250th birthday. All in five months. That’s not just noise. That’s an opportunity.”
His recommendation? Treat it like a reunion.
“If your brand is a friend and you haven’t seen each other in a while, how do you reintroduce yourself? What’s changed? What still matters? That’s the mindset CMOs should be in.”
Like Dorothy, Cook’s been to the Emerald City and again. But he’s by no means overlooked what house manner – or how tough it’s to construct a industry that seems like one.
