Expertise counts

When the stakes are high, real-world expertise makes all the difference. That’s why Co:definery is run by experienced agency people, who’ve been there and done it at the highest levels.

You benefit from in-depth external perspectives on what works, what doesn’t, and how to apply lessons from the best agencies in the world.

Day-to-day, Co:definery is run by Robin Bonn, Hugh Baillie and Inga Umblija. And where needed, we also tap into the wisdom and expertise of our carefully selected specialist partners.

Robin Bonn, Chief Executive Officer

Co:definery was founded by Robin Bonn. He’s spent 25 years driving agency growth for global networks, indies and start-ups, across a range of emerging and traditional disciplines.

In his old life, Robin led winning pitches for the likes of Spotify, P&G, Experian, ITV, Microsoft, Skype, Facebook and Ford, to name a few. But as client challenges became more complex, he saw agencies struggling to keep up – clinging to outdated business models and so-called ‘best practice’ that no longer delivered.

Since then, Robin has been on a mission to de-commoditise agencies. A trusted advisor to some of the world’s most renowned agencies, he helps CEOs and Founders reimagine what differentiation looks like, enabling agencies to scale faster, command a premium and attract the best talent in the industry.

Beyond consultancy, Robin is also an executive coach, a Marketing Week columnist, a founding co-chair of BIMA’s CEO & Leadership Council and a mentor for SheSays. He’s served on the IPA’s New Business Committee and the Direct Marketing Association’s Agencies’ Council. He also hosts The Immortal Life of Agencies, a podcast dedicated to fresh thinking and optimism in agency leadership.

Away from work, Robin is a dad of two daughters, a woeful runner, an amateur artist, and a professional cat botherer.

Hugh Baillie, Executive Chairman

Hugh brings vast international agency and client experience. He spent close to 25 years in the most senior roles at BBH, Ogilvy & Mather, Saatchi & Saatchi and Weber Shandwick. Twice a CEO and once a President, Hugh has also been Global New Business Director (BBH), EMEA Head of Client Experience (Weber Shandwick) and Chair of Ogilvy’s European Advertising Board.

Widely travelled on agency and client business in Europe and beyond, Hugh helped build BBH’s micro network, ran numerous global accounts and trained local agency teams. At BBH, he was considered ‘the international account man’.

As well as being responsible for Weber Shandwick’s Digital Transformation teams, including the creative tech team, his most recent fulltime role was as VP Marketing for a tech start-up developing AR & VR experiences for the automotive industry.

Inga Umblija, Chief Operating Officer

Inga is a coach and consultant who believes in abundance and possibility. She’s built a rich toolkit to help our clients journey towards a life that reflects their highest potential.

With over 20 years in strategic and advisory roles, she’s an expert in delivering change. As well as agencies, her experience also spans finance, telcos, retail and public sector, including Vodafone, Samsung, Danone and BT.

Inga has also worked for the globally renowned coach and business strategist Tony Robbins as a Results Coach – a role that requires 250 hours of rigorous training and an insanely competitive selection process.

In amongst all that, not only is she a qualified yoga teacher, Inga’s also found time to secure APM, PRINCE2 and Six Sigma accreditations, as well as a BSc in Business Mathematics and Statistics from LSE. Oh, and an MBA.

With all those qualifications, she could add a whole heap of letters after her surname. But it’s hard enough to spell as it is.