• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, October 14, 2013

WPP brand consultant Landor Associates has appointed Lois Jacobs CEO effective next month.

Jacobs joins Landor from sister company FITCH, succeeding Mary Zalla, who has stepped down after 21 months in the post but who will remain with the firm.

While Jacobs officially joins the firm on November 1, she will be in a co-CEO role with Zalla through the end of the year. WPP said that Zalla will lead Landor’s newly created global consumer branding practice, and serve as managing director for the Chicago and Cincinnati offices. 

A London resident, Jacobs will split her time between the U.K. and U.S.

Jacobs has led FITCH, a global retail and branding consultancy, since 2009. While there, she worked on a variety of assignments for brands and retailers including Dell, Target, Nokia, and Marks & Spencer.

WPP credits Jacobs with having “transformed” FITCH into a global and integrated network. Under her watch the firm opened new offices in Beijing, Delhi, and Moscow.

Prior to joining FITCH, Jacobs was president international for Jack Morton Worldwide, the Interpublic Group owned experiential marketing agency. While there she created the firm’s public events practice, which was responsible for the production of two Olympic ceremonies, multiple New Year’s Eve events designed to brand major cities, and a range of other large consumer brand experiences around the world. 

Commenting on her new role, Jacobs stated that she will “look forward to working with the firm’s leadership across the network to find new and interesting ways to expand our service offer and add value to our clients’ business.”

Landor is part of the Young & Rubicam Group network within WPP.  It has 25 offices in 19 countries. Current and past clients include Barclays, the Council on Foreign Relations, Diageo, FedEx, Hilton Hotels, Jet Airways, Microsoft, MillerCoors, Procter & Gamble, and Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces.