Alum from .Monks (S4Capital), Ogilvy, Mother, and Giant Spoon joins INVNT in the inaugural role
INVNT, the innovation-led global brand storytelling agency, announced the appointment of James Nicholas Kinney as its first Global Chief AI Officer, a role designed to bring new AI-powered solutions directly to clients while expanding the agency’s AI ecosystem and strengthening its data, insights, and tooling infrastructure.
INVNT, the innovation-led global brand storytelling agency, appoints its first Chief AI Officer, marking a pivotal moment for the industry as AI becomes central to how agencies create, scale, and operate both internally and for client solutions.
In establishing this role, INVNT is accelerating the integration of AI across every department and division at the agency — from strategy and creative to production, and operations — building the internal systems, data lakes, and intelligent capabilities that will shape the next generation of experience and brand engagement.
Kinney brings a professional profile defined by AI certifications from MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and Wharton – the program led by LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman. Blending extensive experience as a Global Chief People Officer with deep technological fluency, he has centered his career on people, culture, talent, and large-scale AI evolution. His leadership background spans .Monks, part of S4Capital, and Ogilvy, as well as shaping people-first cultures at Giant Spoon and Mother.
Scott Cullather, Chairman and Chief Growth Officer, INVNT, commented on the significance of the role: “Business transformation happens when you connect the dots across industries, technologies, and the experience ecosystem. INVNT has always been at the forefront of innovation-led brandstory™. Adding a Global Chief AI Officer to our leadership team marks the next step in that evolution for our clients, our agency and the industry at large. James is uniquely qualified for this role, one of the foremost minds in AI-enabled organizational design with a rare blend of HR leadership, agency experience, and advanced AI training. He understands how humans and machines can coexist to drive meaningful progress, from operational maximalism to predictive analytics and client-forward solutions. His leadership will accelerate INVNT’s future as the best-in-class experience agency enhanced by AI.”
Over the last 17 years, INVNT has partnered with the world’s leading brands to merge bold creativity with state-of-the-art innovation, positioning the agency at the forefront of next-generation, AI-driven brand storytelling.
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- Microsoft: INVNT partnered with Microsoft to introduce CoPilot to the world and designed Microsoft’s 50th Anniversary event leveraging CoPilot throughout.
- Oracle: INVNT developed the AI-powered creative and programmatic elements for Oracle AI World 2025 with over 60,000 attendees, featuring a keynote by Larry Ellison.
- SHRM: As creative and media buying agency of record, INVNT delivers AI-powered content and strategic media buying.
- Xero: INVNT engineered a proprietary AI Music Factory that generated full albums from simple voice commands.
- COP28: INVNT debuted the award-winning AI-powered Tree of Life installation in Dubai.
- ABB: INVNT developed “ABB-e“, a real-time interactive AI mascot using 3D animation that scaled across global events.
- Lamborghini: INVNT designed the AI-powered strategy and marketing campaign for the last naturally aspirated Lamborghini Aventador paired with the world’s first 1:1 supercar NFT, designed in collaboration with Steve Aoki and Krista Kim which auctioned at RM Sotheby’s for $1.6M
- Proprietary INVNT Technology: Developed patent-pending AI powered next-generation XR learning and engagement experiences across Apple Vision Pro and other extended reality devices.
Kinney will be responsible for leading client-facing AI innovation, helping global brands scale their experiences and campaigns through intelligent machine learning, and driving new business opportunities grounded in AI-powered transformation. He will report directly to Scott Cullather, Chairman and Chief Growth Officer of INVNT.
Kristina McCoobery, CEO, INVNT, emphasized the agency’s historical approach to innovation: “INVNT has always believed in building what comes next. From AI-powered product launches to immersive global experiences and campaigns, we’ve proven that storytelling and technology elevate each other in extraordinary ways. James will partner across all our divisions and regions, to strengthen INVNT’s AI operations, create greater efficiencies, and expand the agency’s data, tooling, and automation ecosystem leading our efforts to scale that vision across every corner of the business, touching every client experience, ultimately supercharging the creative solutions we develop for our clients”.
James Nicholas Kinney, Global Chief AI Officer, stated his vision for the role: “INVNT is an innovation led brand story agency full of high performers. We dream big and build boldly. My role is to bring AI into that ethos, to create greater impact for our clients and drive operational acceleration for our employees around the world.
We will enable global cultural alignment with clear language, shared understanding, and unified execution.”