R/GA names Sadie Thoma Global Chief Business Officer

R/GA, the global creative and technology agency, has appointed Sadie Thoma as its Global Chief Business Officer, a newly elevated or restructured executive role designed to accelerate the agency's commercial growth and scale its artificial intelligence capabilities across its global network. Thoma's appointment signals R/GA's strategic intent to deepen its AI-driven service offerings and position itself competitively in an increasingly technology-centric agency landscape. The role is expected to encompass business development, client partnerships, and the integration of AI tools into R/GA's core product and service delivery. R/GA has historically positioned itself at the intersection of technology and creativity, and this leadership move reflects a broader industry trend of agencies formalizing C-suite roles dedicated to operationalizing AI at scale. By placing a senior business leader in charge of both commercial strategy and AI capability scaling, R/GA is signaling that AI is no longer a peripheral capability but a central pillar of its value proposition to clients. This is particularly relevant as holding companies and independent agencies alike compete to demonstrate tangible AI-driven ROI to marketers. The appointment is significant within the AdTech and agency ecosystem because it underscores the convergence of business strategy and technology leadership in modern agency structures. As brands demand more measurable, data-driven, and AI-augmented creative and media solutions, agencies like R/GA are restructuring their leadership to reflect this new reality. Thoma's mandate to scale AI capabilities globally suggests R/GA may be investing in proprietary AI tooling, strategic partnerships with AI platforms, or expanded data and analytics practices.

This leadership change reflects a broader structural shift occurring across the agency and AdTech landscape, where AI capability is becoming a primary competitive differentiator. R/GA's decision to create or elevate a Global CBO role with an explicit AI scaling mandate puts pressure on peer agencies — including Publicis Sapient, Accenture Song, and other technology-forward creative agencies — to similarly formalize AI leadership at the C-suite level. It also signals to holding company networks such as IPG (R/GA's parent) that AI transformation requires dedicated business leadership, not just technology or product teams. For the broader AdTech ecosystem, this move reinforces demand for AI-native tools, platforms, and partnerships that agencies can deploy at scale for clients. Vendors in areas such as generative AI creative production, AI-driven personalization, and automated media optimization stand to benefit as agencies like R/GA seek to build or partner their way into scalable AI offerings. The appointment may also influence client procurement decisions, as marketers increasingly evaluate agencies on their AI maturity and leadership credibility.