Alum from .Monks (S4Capital), Ogilvy, Mother, and Giant Spoon joins INVNT in the inaugural role.
NEW YORK — INVNT, the innovation-led global brand storytelling agency, has appointed James Nicholas Kinney as its first Global Chief AI Officer. The new leadership role is designed to deliver AI-powered solutions directly to clients while expanding INVNT’s AI ecosystem and strengthening its data, insights, and tooling infrastructure.
By establishing the position, INVNT said it is accelerating the integration of AI across every department and division—from strategy and creative to production and operations—while building internal systems, data lakes, and intelligent capabilities to shape the next generation of experiences and brand engagement.
Kinney brings AI certifications from MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and Wharton, including the program led by LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman. His background combines agency leadership and technology fluency with extensive experience in people, culture, talent, and large-scale AI evolution. He previously held leadership roles at .Monks (S4Capital) and Ogilvy and helped shape people-first cultures at Giant Spoon and Mother.
Scott Cullather, Chairman and Chief Growth Officer at INVNT, said the role reflects the agency’s focus on connecting innovation across industries and technologies, and described Kinney as a leader with a rare blend of HR leadership, agency experience, and advanced AI training. He added that Kinney’s appointment will accelerate INVNT’s positioning as an experience agency enhanced by AI.
INVNT highlighted its recent work combining creativity and emerging technology across major global brands and events, including Microsoft, Oracle, SHRM, Xero, COP28, ABB, and Lamborghini, alongside proprietary AI-powered extended reality learning and engagement technology.
In his new role, Kinney will lead client-facing AI innovation, support global brands in scaling experiences and campaigns through machine learning, and drive new business opportunities tied to AI-powered transformation. He will report to Scott Cullather.
Kristina McCoobery, CEO of INVNT, said Kinney will work across divisions and regions to strengthen AI operations, create efficiencies, and expand the agency’s data, tooling, and automation ecosystem to scale the company’s innovation vision across every client experience.
Kinney said his focus will be on embedding AI into INVNT’s high-performance culture to drive greater client impact and operational acceleration, supported by shared language, alignment, and unified execution across global teams.
ABOUT INVNT
INVNT is an international, interdisciplinary, and integrated brand storytelling agency founded in 2008, with offices across New York (HQ), London, Sydney, Singapore, Mumbai, Dubai, Detroit, San Francisco, Stockholm, Noosa, and Washington D.C. More information is available at invnt.com.
