Tom Richards joins 21GRAMS as co-global chief creative officer

W2O advertising and marketing agency 21GRAMS has appointed Tom Richards as its co-global chief creative officer.

He joins the firm from Havas Lynx where, as chief creative officer, he grew the UK healthcare communications agency’s creative department to more than 100 and led the company to win the Lions Health Healthcare Agency of the Year in 2018.

He said: “I have always admired 21GRAMS and its philosophy of finding what makes people tick, and creating work that really ‘gets’ them. Work that doesn’t just compete with other brands, but anything fighting for the audience’s attention.

“It’s not every day you get to be a part of, and help build, a new kind of health agency – one with a passion for creativity at its heart and soul. The leadership team has great chemistry and delights in doing things differently, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”

21GRAMS joined W2O in January, adding to the group’s recent acquisitions of Arcus Medica, ISO.health and Radius Digital Science and continuing the expansion of its advertising and digital capabilities.

In his new role Richards, who will remain based in the UK, will serve as a creative partner to the US-based Frank Mazzola, who’s one of the company’s founding members and its other co-global chief creative officer.

He said: “Ask any agency in health, around the world, who would be on their wish list, 9 out of 10 will say Tom Richards. The work he’s led consistently shows the industry what great looks like. Not just in ideas that break the norms of traditional advertising, but in craft.

“As someone who came up in copy, and Tom in art, we complement each other well. I’ve been a fan for years, so it’s an honour to partner alongside and see what we can do together. The goal is to open doors no one knew existed for the industry.”

Meanwhile, Richards’ previous agency Havas Lynx recently promoted its executive creative director (ECD) duo of Jon Chapman and Paul Kinsella to chief creative officers (CCOs) to drive its creative vision.