This month marks the beginning of a new term for our Next Gen Council, a group of ten rising stars from our agencies in Asia Pacific, EMEA, Latin America and North America who are helping to inform and develop future-focused strategies for our global independent agency network. The Council will have some new faces as well as several members continuing for a second term. 

The new WPI Next Gen Council is:

Rita Steinberg, Group Media Director, FUSE Create (Canada) - Co-Chair

Miriam Moertl, Managing Director, Ardmore (Northern Ireland) - Co-Chair

Neale Abshire, VP Client Partnership, Ammunition (USA)

Federico Halsband, Managing Director, HWP (Costa Rica)

Luke Whitty, Account Director, LG2 (Canada)

Anri Urano, Account Manager, Helios Worldwide (US, China)

Colby Naiker, Account Director, Hydrogen (USA)

Margot Helfter, Chief Creative Officer, HOMERUN (France)

Bond Hillard, Director of Accounts, Stoltz Marketing Group (USA)

“The Next Gen Council’s goal is to elevate the WPI brand, expand participation beyond the usual circles, and create more dynamic ways to connect and share ideas. When we activate the full strength of this network, it becomes more than collaborative, it becomes unstoppable,” said Next Gen Council Co-Chair Rita Steinberg.

“The Next Gen Council ensures leadership continuity into the next generation by mentoring and preparing emerging leaders to step into future roles within WPI, keeping the organization dynamic and sustainable,” said Next Gen Council Co-Chair Miriam Moertl. “With their energy and fresh enthusiasm, and the autonomy from the WPI Board to make decisions and implement ideas, one big thing that can be achieved is heightened engagement, especially among our younger agency team members. This is ultimately helping to grow and diversify the network to futureproof the network and our agencies.”

In the three years since we first announced the Next Gen Council, we’ve been blown away by all of the members’ innovative ideas, enthusiasm for collaboration, and ability to get so much done!  

The Council has continued to enhance and grow three key initiatives: 

Global Mentorship Program

Our second year of the Global Mentorship Program was 20% bigger than the first year, with 181 participants from 56 agencies in 20 countries. This year-long program connects mentors and mentees across WPI agencies to establish relationships to gain new insights and perspectives, expand their network and grow together. We are excited to expand on the success of this program for a third year and anticipate even higher participation across the globe. 

Young Indies Creative Competition

2025 marked the second year for The Young Indies – a global creative competition for employees at Worldwide Partners' independent agencies around the world. Over a focused two-week sprint, employees with eight years or less of experience took on a bold brief from a purpose-driven global brand in the outdoor clothing and gear space-known for its commitment to environmental responsibility and ethical business practices. Entries were evaluated by a global panel of judges from within the industry, including Former Adweek Editor Doug Zanger, Former 4As President Nancy Hill, and Maximum Effort’s John Deschner. The Young Indies winner—a team from Stockholm-based partner Blomquist—was announced on May 6 at our Global Summit in Chicago, USA.

Global Coworking Community

A fresh and modern take on your standard talent exchange program helping to reward, retain, and attract agency talent, the WPI Collaborative Coworking Community is a list of WPI agencies that have opened their doors to welcome visitors from the network to work remotely in their offices. We currently have 25 agencies in 13 countries on the list, and are always welcoming more to join!

Global Town Hall

While continuing to manage and enhance these key initiatives, the group also conceived of and coordinated a first for our network: a Global Virtual Town Hall meeting. And it was a smashing success! 

With 860 attendees from 62 agencies in 22 countries, the Town Hall was a fantastic way to introduce more agency staff to the network, highlight the many resources and benefits available, and show everyone they are connected to something bigger.

“What excites me most about WPI is the sheer volume of untapped potential across collaboration, innovation, and thought leadership. With so many world-class independent agencies under one roof, the possibilities are limitless,” Rita added.

“The Next Gen Council is integral to shaping the future of our network,” commented John Harris, President and CEO of Worldwide Partners. “This group, comprised of rising stars deeply involved in their agencies' daily operations, possesses the knowledge, skills, and passion necessary to drive our evolution forward.”

Please join us in welcoming this new group of leaders. We’ve been impressed with the level of passion, commitment and innovation from the first cohort and look forward to building on this success with this new Council group.