My Digital Hero: Thomas Bailly, Director of Global Agency Development at Utiq

Thomas Bailly is the recently-appointed Director of Global Agency Development at Utiq. His career spans almost two decades, with previous roles at companies including Microsoft, AOL/Verizon Media, Twitter, and Pinterest,

Who is your digital hero? 

I would say Maurice Lévy – and no, I’m not nominating a fellow Frenchman out of chauvinism! Here is a man who rose up the ranks and went on to transform a local agency into a global powerhouse. 

What has he done to win hero status in your eyes? 

I think, an uncanny ability to spot pivotal moments, followed by bold, prescient moves. 

In 2006, while others were still debating if digital was just a trend, he acquired Digitas for $1.3 billion – the first major digital agency acquisition in advertising history. Then came Razorfish in 2009, and the game-changing $3.7 billion Sapient deal in 2014. Marcel, which we would now call an AI agent, launched in 2018 before AI was cool. 

All these ladder up to a deep understanding that technology, and particularly digital, was not to be a replacement for labour, but an enabler of human creativity and potential. 

More anecdotally, he jumped into the Publicis building in 1972 to save the company’s computer records from a fire! 

How has his heroism helped drive digital? 

I think those acquisitions and strategic decisions laid the foundation for the strong position Publicis is in at the moment. 

For the Samsung pitch in 2007, instead of following the standard approach of leading with traditional creative and treating digital as an afterthought, he created this hybrid squad of creative, digital, and media experts working as equals. 

This demonstrated vision that digital was not just another channel – it was a core strategic driver that needed to be into broader communication strategies. This approach based on fluid, multidisciplinary collaboration influenced the blueprint for how most agencies structure teams and deliver work today. 

What are the biggest challenges in digital we need another hero to solve? 

The rapid pace of innovation in AI is leaving a lot of people confused and scared about the future, and I think the next digital hero will alleviate the tension between ordinary humans and AI, and help society redefine its relationship with technology. 

The William Gibson quote has never been truer: “The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed”.

As an industry, we also need to restore trust with consumers. When you work in digital advertising, conversations at family dinners inevitably turn to ‘so what do you guys really know about me?’ And I get it. Most people do not clearly see the value exchange, or do not feel that the value of their consent is being respected, because all incentives are pointed towards efficiency over transparency. 

Utiq launched in mid-2023 offering a unique, purpose-driven service to the market that solves the consent, privacy and addressability issues of an increasingly fragmented and disconnected internet. We empower brands and agencies to adopt a fully-consented addressability approach, fostering stronger, deterministic consumer relationships, while safeguarding their privacy. 

This clear industry role and purpose was a strong reason for me joining the business, and I personally recognise Utiq’s unique position as a privacy-first partner to agencies and advertisers, leveraging exclusive Authentic Audience signals from trusted publishing partners that will help shape the future of programmatic advertising in the open web. 

What is your most heroic personal achievement so far in digital? 

I work in advertising, no heroic acts to find here! 

But I do feel equally proud and grateful for how this skinny southern French kid from public university was welcomed into the industry, joined big bold corporate names, learning and working alongside some of the most talented teams in our industry. Many of these colleagues have become good friends. It has been a journey and a half, but truly rewarding and an unreplicable work and life experience. 

Also published in: New Digital Age