Saatchi & Saatchi has appointed Ruth Bates to the newly-created role of chief data officer. Promoted from her previous role as head of data arts, she will join the agency’s senior leadership team.

Reporting in to chair and chief strategy officer Richard Huntington, Bates will now be responsible for overseeing the firm’s data capabilities, harnessing real-world insights to power its creative output.

Bates first joined the agency in 2018 and had previously worked as a senior manager at Deloitte Digital. She will now work closely with Huntington to create and implement products and services that can inject audience learnings into new work.

“For six years, Ruth has been a secret weapon, shaping our data capabilities as an agency and as a Groupe. Now, she is not so secret,” Saatchi & Saatchi chair and chief strategy officer, Richard Huntington said.

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“In creating this new position, we are not only recognising Ruth’s value to our work but also recognising that data arts have come of age at Saatchi & Saatchi.”

Her promotion follows on from a series of appointments in the data discipline, with Sam Wise elevated to executive strategy director, Emily Lewis-Keane promoted to head of planning and James Addlestone appointed to take over as head of data arts.

Bates herself added: “As consumers, our everyday experience is shaped by a complex ecosystem of data and algorithms.

“As advertisers, we need to live and breathe that complexity if we want our ideas to influence the real world. It’s exciting to be working alongside a leadership team committed to leveraging the full potential of data”.