• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, April 1, 2013

Beth Wade has been promoted to chief marketing officer at WPP digital shop VML, a new position at the agency.

Wade’s promotion comes amid an ambitious expansion at VML. In the last 18 months, the shop has opened six new international locations, expanding from about 900 employees to 1,100 today. The shop has plans to open five new offices in the next 12 months, focusing on additional European locales and possibly Asia as well. Last month, it opened a Tokyo office.

In her new role, Wade will oversee marketing strategy and the company’s continuing expansion. It’s critical, she said, that the agency “drive consistency” in its offering, marketing messages and approaches to clients “throughout the global network.”

A little over a year ago, VML opened shop in Sydney to strengthen its presence and offering in the Asia-Pacific region for existing clients, such as Barilla and Dell. Earlier this year, it secured the Kellogg’s digital assignment for Australia. The agency also handles North American digital chores for Kellogg’s.

Wade will continue to report to VML CEO and President Jon Cook who said "as VML continues to grow globally, Beth will focus on driving the VML brand forward worldwide.”

Previously, Wade, a 10-year VML veteran, was chief client officer at the agency, and is credited with driving much of the recent expansion, which has been achieved through both acquisitions and organic growth. The agency’s Milan office, for example, was started from scratch a few years back.

A little over a year ago, the firm launched its Singapore and Indonesian operations through the acquisition of Qais Consulting, which was rebranded VML Qais. The agency will continue to expand via both acquisitions and internal growth, Wade said.

In addition to Kellogg’s, Wade is credited with helping to land clients including Colgate-Palmolive, Hill’s and Tom’s. Other recent key wins include assignments for both Wendy’s and Coors.

Before joining VML in 2002, Wade was with Wunderman in New York. Earlier, she held posts at both Sprint and Applebee’s.