Wray Ward has named John Roberts as chief creative officer, putting the veteran creative director in the top post to guide the agency in its creative vision and continue its commitment to provide clients with top-performing and award-winning work.

“As we march forward toward our 50th anniversary in 2027, we’ll look to John to continually inspire us in the creative excellence that we deliver to our clients,” said Kent Panther, president and chief executive officer of Wray Ward. “John’s clear vision, demand for exceptional work and innate leadership qualities make him ideally suited to take us into our next chapter of continued success.”

Jennifer Appleby, who retired from day-to-day agency management in December, previously held the post of chief creative officer. She now serves as the agency’s executive chair.

Roberts joined Wray Ward in 2003 and, as executive creative director, has been instrumental in leading the agency’s creative growth, including introducing in-house motion and photography services, building a UX team and digital-first approach and demanding creative excellence that is consistently recognized with industry awards. He leads Wray Ward’s creative department of more than 50 talented individuals serving as creative directors, designers, writers, UX developers, cinematographers, photographers, editors and producers.

During his 30 years in the creative field, Roberts has acted as art director, creative director, photographer and film director. In 2022, he was awarded the American Advertising Federation (AAF) of Charlotte’s Silver Medal Award for outstanding contributions to advertising. During his career, Roberts’ work has been recognized in creative competitions and advertising award programs including The One Show, Archive, ADDYs, Effies, Art Direction magazine and the New York Festivals. Before joining Wray Ward, Roberts applied his talents at national agencies such as Young & Rubicam in New York and TBWA\Chiat\Day in St. Louis as well as several of Charlotte’s top agencies.

“It’s a privilege to work with this exceptional group of creatives, and I love that my new role as chief creative officer takes me beyond creative services to inspire creativity in all our team members while driving the agency’s creative vision,” Roberts said. “It’s both humbling and invigorating, and I’m looking forward to leading our agency’s charge into the future.”