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Wieden+Kennedy Portland president Jason White is leaving the agency.
White returned to W+K in 2023 following the death of Dan Wieden, who co-founded the agency and created Nike’s iconic “Just Do It” campaign. He had previously worked for W+K from 2005 to 2011, serving as managing director of W+K Shanghai before his departure. His résumé includes more recent roles at Curaleaf, Paramount and Fanatics.
“I came back to Wieden+Kennedy Portland to help us all through the transition of Dan’s passing,” White said in a statement published by Ad Age, which reported the news Thursday. “It has been one of my greatest honors to serve in that role. I’ll miss this place, but I leave so proud of what we’ve accomplished and ready for the next adventure.”
Wieden+Kennedy was founded in 1982 with just one client: an Oregon-based athletic shoe company called Nike. The agency became known for creative, often edgy ads meant to give its clients an aura of cool rather than offer a straightforward pitch for their product. (Wieden wasn’t shy to admit that the slogan “Just Do It” came directly from the mouth of serial killer Gary Gilmore, right before he was killed by a Utah firing squad.)
As of 2025, the firm is a $400 million company, with offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Shanghai, Mexico City, Toronto, Sydney and Sao Paulo in addition to its Portland headquarters. But it has also struggled in recent years, laying off 90 workers from its Portland headquarters in February 2024, a cut that threw 20% of its Portland staff out of work.
It was not clear from initial reporting where White is headed. W+K confirmed in an email to WW that White will not be replaced.
“Jason is a world class Marketer and CMO. We couldn’t be more grateful that we were able to get him back in the building for the time we did,” W+K’s global CEO, Neal Arthur, said in a statement.
Note: This story has been updated to accurately reflect W+K’s revenue and update the list of its office locations, and to include comments from W+K.
