Jo Coombs, COO – Publicis Groupe UK

Jo Coombs loves brands.  She’s spent the last 20+ years working in Agencies helping to build the brands and businesses of many global organisations.

Jo has worked at Ogilvy, Y&R and Wunderman.  Most recently she was the UK CEO of OgilvyOne, a leading Customer Engagement and Digital agency.

Over the last 20 years Jo has helped brands like British Airways, Amercian Express, Unilever, Boots, BT, British Gas & the UK Government establish long-lasting relationships with consumers, driving business results and building strong brands.  She is particularly proud of the work Ogilvy has done for Public Health England that is driving behavior change and helping the UK to become a healthier nation.

“Even after all these years for me it’s always about the work.  Nothing excites me more than when you see a great idea, and you get that tingle, because you know that it’s going to make a difference in someone’s world”.

Believing passionately that good ideas can come from anyone, anywhere Jo’s number one agenda is to build a flexible, diverse and open working culture.  And as a single mum of two young children she strives to be a positive role model especially for working parents.

Jo is also a member of the UK Government Evaluation Council, a Trustee of the Wooden Spoon which is the children’s charity of rugby, and a Strategic Advisor to The Cornerstone Partnership a social innovation company helping to innovate in the areas of child Fostering and Adoption.

But her number one job, and the reason Jo gets out bed every day, is to be Mum to Jake (6) and Olive (5) who love football, ponies, babies, dogs, lego, playmobile, squabbling, losing things, ignoring her and answering back, minions, sausages and cuddles.