Thinkbox
Thinkbox, the marketing body for commercial TV in the UK, in all its forms, announced today that Elliott Millard will be joining the organisation as its first Chief Strategy Officer.
Millard is currently Chief Strategy and Planning Officer at Wavemaker, the Thinkbox TV Planning Agency of the Year 2024. He will begin his new role at Thinkbox in 2025.
As Thinkbox’s Chief Strategy Officer, Millard will report to Thinkbox CEO, Lindsey Clay, and will sit on the Thinkbox board. Alongside the other Thinkbox directors, he will be responsible for evolving the vision and strategic focus of the organisation.
Millard will lead Thinkbox’s highly experienced and award-winning research and planning team, including Zoe Harkness, Head of Partnerships, Anthony Jones, Head of Research, and Rupen Shah, Head of Client Services.
Chief Strategy Officer is a new position at Thinkbox. Its creation follows a review of Thinkbox’s future requirements and the departure of Thinkbox’s Director of Research and Planning, Matt Hill, who is leaving in January 2025 to begin a new role at Sky Media. The role of Director of Research and Planning is being retired.
Lindsey Clay, Thinkbox CEO: “The calibre and experience of the applicants for this pivotal role was a huge vote of confidence in the future of TV as it continues to transform and re-define its boundaries. And, on an elite shortlist, Elliott stood out. He brings immense strategic and leadership experience, alongside bags of intelligence, creativity, and charm. He’s also been a prolific winner of new business and industry awards, from the Grand Effies and IPA Effectiveness Awards to Cannes Lions, and I’m certain he will bring all these vastly impressive capabilities to bear in helping drive commercial TV forward and telling the story of the incomparable things it does for brands. We can’t wait for him to start.”
Elliott Millard: “It was always going to take something extraordinary to tempt me away from Wavemaker and the amazing team here, but Thinkbox was it. I’ve long been an admirer not just of their passion for the industry but specifically of their work and the way they’ve championed TV in all its forms against a backdrop of astonishing change and competition. So I’m super excited to be joining an organisation with their reputation – and one that remains at the heart of advertising effectiveness. I’ve spent most of my career being a cheerleader for the power of high quality, engaging media and I’m looking forward to continuing that as well as challenging how brands and agencies think about TV now and for the future.”
Kelly Parker, Wavemaker UK CEO, and Katie Lee, Wavemaker UK COO: “Elliott has been a pivotal player in our team and played a huge part in the recent momentum we have been experiencing at Wavemaker. We want to say a massive thank you to him for all that he’s done for the two of us, for our clients and our people. His passion and obsession with the craft of media and his refusal to settle has improved the work we do for clients and is infectious for the team around him. There are some roles that are made for people and when he told us where he was going, we knew that it was a perfect fit. We send him off with our love and the happiness that we will still get to work together.”
Founded in 2005, Thinkbox works with the marketing community with a single ambition: to help advertisers get the best out of today’s TV. Its shareholders and board members are Channel 4, ITV, Sky Media, and UKTV, and Associate Members include Amazon, Disney+, Netflix, Vevo, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Thinkbox’s shareholders and Associate Members are united by their investment in high-quality TV content that creates a premium advertising environment, and their commitment to the quality standards which make TV advertising so trusted and effective – such as ensuring restricted ads aren’t shown to the wrong audiences, agreeing to Barb’s independent measurement, and having a rigorous ad clearance process.