Jo Cronk and Emma Harman have been promoted to co-CEOs of creator agency Whalar.
Previously, Cronk and Harman served as presidents of North America and EMEA, respectively. While the CEO positions are not regional, Cronk and Harman will continue to focus on their respective markets. Cronk and Harman joined Whalar in 2018.
“We’ve been performing at this level and collaborating in this way as co-leaders of Whalar agency for a long time,” Cronk told ADWEEK. “Now, it’s coming out and sharing and celebrating that with the team and the industry.”
Whalar is the creator agency within the broader Whalar Group holding company. Until now, Whalar Group cofounders Neil Waller and James Street have been CEOs of the agency, and the two will continue to lead Whalar Group. Cronk and Harman will report to Waller.
Harman said she will continue to help educate brands on how to work with creators. “What we see in Europe is that there’s often a lot of scrutiny around the work that we do,” said Harman. “It’s a case of really educating, helping clients really get comfortable with this space.”
In the US, Cronk said that more brands are making long-term investments into creators. “It used to be like a one-year ambassador program, but the brands that are succeeding are thinking longer and deeper than that, and bringing creators in almost as if they were full-time employees,” she said. “That’s where we see huge success.”
Creators are becoming bigger brands
The Whalar Group owns a variety of companies in the creator economy space including Lighthouse, a campus for creators; Sixteenth, a global talent agency; and Moby Ventures, a creator-centric ventures studio.
The Whalar Group recently secured new funding from tech entrepreneur Marc Benioff, Shopify, and Hollywood producer Neal H. Moritz, valuing the company at a $400 million, according to Bloomberg. The Whalar Group has also acquired three companies: Business of Creativity, Sixteenth, and C Talent.
Promoting Cronk and Harman to lead the agency will help the growth continue, Cronk said.
“It allows Neil and James to focus on other businesses and the ambitions they have,” said Cronk. “There will be more acquisitions, growth, and innovation. Emma and I will focus purely on innovating for Whalar.”