Advertising Age reported VML North America Chief Creative Officer of Innovation Walter Geer III is shifting gear, leaving the White advertising agency and single White operating company after six years of service.
Geer claimed his resignation is not a result of the redundancies, restructurings, and RIFs at WPP.
Yet given VML boasts dynamic DEIBA+ dedication and WPP hypes alleged technological advantages, Geer’s exit is bad optics.
Walter Geer III exits VML after six years
By Brian Bonilla
Walter T. Geer III is leaving VML after six years at the agency, departing his role as chief creative officer of innovation for North America as he considers a next chapter spanning creativity, technology, culture and business.
Geer joined WPP’s VML in 2020 as executive creative director of experience design and later held senior leadership positions across health, consumer marketing, experience design and innovation. Most recently, he led a team of nearly 20 people spanning New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco, he said.
Geer said his decision to leave was not connected to WPP’s ongoing restructuring or recent layoffs and had been under consideration for some time. The move is effective immediately.
VML wasn’t immediately available for comment.
During his tenure, Geer worked with brands including Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Advil, Covered California, Progressive and Pfizer. Some of his most notable work at VML includes Advil’s “Believe My Pain,” which addressed racial disparities in how pain is recognized and treated and won a Gold Effie in 2025, as well as Covered California’s “For the Love of Californians” brand platform.
“I had an incredible six years at VML,” Geer said. “At the same time, I think I reached a point where I wanted to give myself the space to really kind of think bigger about what my next chapter could be.”
He said that he is not committed to a particular kind of company or role.
“I made the decision to leave because I wanted to be really thoughtful about what happens next … that could mean transforming an existing organization, creating a new model, absolutely joining an independent company or agency, working directly with a brand or building something entrepreneurial.”
Geer has been outspoken on industry issues either through social media or films such as Black Madison Ave, an open discussion among the few black creative leaders at the holding company level that was released in 2022. He is also a co-founder of Blackweek. VML will remain a strategic partner and primary sponsor of the conference moving forward, Geer confirmed.
Geer said the industry’s wave of holding company consolidation is understandable, describing it as “a necessary evil” as agencies look to combine resources and capabilities.
Discussing the broader agency market, Geer praised the scale, talent and client relationships that large networks offer; he argued the biggest opportunity lies in marrying those advantages with the speed and entrepreneurial mindset of independents.
“That combination could be incredibly powerful if organizations are truly willing and able to make that type of change,” he said.
Geer said that he plans to continue growing Blackweek while advising organizations and exploring opportunities across creativity, technology, entrepreneurship and business transformation.
“There is so much more to build, so much more to challenge and so much more impact to make,” he said. “I’m proud of what we accomplished at VML, grateful for the people who were part of that journey and genuinely excited about what comes next.”
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