Under the appointment Elke van Tienen will join the VMLY&R Commerce Global Executive Committee DUBAI: Advertising group WPP’s creative commerce agency, VMLY&R Commerce, has promoted Chief People Officer (EMEA) Elke van Tienen to Global Head of People with immediate effect. She will continue to be based in the UK. Under the appointment Tienen will join the VMLY&R Commerce Global Executive Committee. “Elke’s exceptional expertise in creating empathetic, people-first initiatives, along with her intuitive empathy, make her perfect casting to this global role,” said Global CEO Beth Ann Kamnikow. With more than 15 years’ experience as a talent professional, Tienen has created and delivered talent initiatives such as The Incubator, a work experience program offering students from diverse backgrounds an opportunity to operate as a mini agency; #CreativeComeBack, in partnership with Creative Equals, a returners program fast-tracking women back into the creative industry; and Pitch Your Passion, a quarterly contest that spotlights employees’ inspirational side-hustles. “This year has brought about a renewed focus on the human element of talent management. I am excited to work with the team to set the global agenda on the future of work and employee experience where well-being is top priority,” said Tienen. Last year, WPP announced the merger of its Geometry and VMLY&R global businesses to form VMLY&R Commerce, a new end-to-end “creative commerce company”. The newly formed agency is led by Kaminkow, previously the global CEO of Geometry. Since the formation of the new entity, Kamnikow has made several moves including the promotion of Debbie Ellison to Global Chief Digital Officer and Manuel Bordé to Global Chief Creative Officer. Tienen will work in collaboration with VMLY&R Global Chief People Officer Ronnie Felder to create a connected culture for its 12,000 employees around the world.