WE Communications announced leadership appointments across the agency’s growing areas of business: Tiffany Cook, executive vice president and a 19-year agency veteran has been promoted to president. Tiffany will continue to oversee WE’s award-winning consumer sector. Chief Strategist and Executive Vice President Katie Huang Shin will assume the role of president, technology sector and chief strategy officer. Both appointments support the agency’s strategic priorities and commitment to propel its business forward.
“Both leaders have played instrumental roles in taking our business to the next level — expanding our capabilities and diversifying our client work,” said Kass Sells, president of North America. “These moves set us up to deliver even further on stellar client work that meet the demands of a changing market that is rich with opportunity.”
Tiffany Cook, President, Consumer Sector
As the president of consumer, Tiffany will intensify her focus on accelerating the agency’s work with consumer companies, building on the sector’s success of integrating social, digital, insights, influencer excellence and breakthrough creative for companies looking to increase their consumer engagements.
Since joining WE in 1998, Tiffany has provided strategic integrated counsel and led major integrated marketing campaigns for a wide range of clients. Appointed as the head of consumer sector three years ago, she brings extensive experience in brand reinvention, customer affinity and thought leadership through communications. Under Tiffany’s leadership, WE’s consumer sector has grown significantly, bringing in some of the world’s leading brands.
Tiffany has also contributed to the expansion of WE’s New York office with an emphasis on diversifying talent and the client roster. She has deepened the agency’s strength in developing programs to drive brand awareness across paid, owned and earned media. Her consumer sector’s Confluence program ensures that previously separated disciplines across the agency now work in an integrated fashion to drive more impactful results for clients. Tiffany has also taken on the responsibilities of North America marketing for WE, expanding her scope beyond client work to drive thought leadership and awareness for WE in the industry.
“Tiffany brings endless amounts of passion and creativity to our work with consumer brands,” said Sells. “At the same time, she is a model leader, cultivating an inspiring and high-performing team that delivers in spades for our clients.”
Before joining WE, Tiffany worked for Upside Magazine where she was a key figure in the creation and production of industry conferences for Upside. She has been recognized in PR Week’s inaugural PR Hall of Femme issue and was most recently recognized in Forbes. She will continue reporting to Sells, president of North America.
Katie Huang Shin, President, Technology Sector and Chief Strategy Officer
Katie succeeds Dawn Beauparlant, who was appointed to the role of Chief Client Officer in March 2017 and will now devote more of her time to developing WE’s robust client portfolio and playing an active advisory role across a number of accounts, including Microsoft. Known for her strong agency and sector leadership experience across the globe, and reputation for high-performance management, Katie will oversee WE’s technology sector to advance strategic growth opportunities and fully leverage its position as the leading technology communications agency. This will include continuing to harness and expand WE’s strategic and transformative communication services for clients, helping them navigate today’s complex world in motion. As Chief Strategy Officer, Katie will continue to focus on client development and driving overall agency growth strategy, working across global agency leadership, sectors and services leads.
In her 20-year career, Katie has helped build and activate powerful technology brands in crowded and competitive markets. She has served as a trusted advisor to senior executives through technology and business transformation, crisis situations, M&A transactions, internal and external communications issues, and more. She has also led or managed hundreds of company and business initiatives, and guided some of the world’s leading technology companies.
Katie joined WE in 2015 as executive vice president, having previously spent more than a decade in various global executive management positions at leading public relations agencies in Omnicom and Interpublic Group. Earlier in her career, she also worked for local technology PR agencies and regional midsize communications firms, spearheading award-winning work for building brand, reputation and market leadership for technology innovators and midsize enterprise software providers.
“Our ability to communicate the impact of technology in today’s disruptive landscape is incredibly important to our clients across all sectors,” said Beauparlant. “Katie was made for this role, bringing an unmatched understanding for the market dynamics, threats and opportunities facing our clients today and tomorrow.”
Katie will continue to be based in the San Francisco Bay Area and report to Chief Client Officer Dawn Beauparlant.
