# Robert Wheatley

> Robert "Bob" Wheatley is a Chicago brand and communications strategist, founder and CEO of Emergent - The Healthy Living Agency, and a former president and managing director at Ogilvy & Mather. His career has centered on food, beverage, household and lifestyle brands, with a recurring argument that lasting growth comes from consumer insight, transparent proof and a purpose people can believe. He previously led Wheatley & Timmons and has written for MediaPost, LinkedIn, Medium and Emergent's long-running marketing blog.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Emergent - The Healthy Living Agency
- **Organizations:** Emergent - The Healthy Living Agency, Wheatley & Timmons, Ogilvy & Mather
- **Nationality:** American
- **Known for:** Founded Emergent, a Chicago brand and communications agency focused on food, beverage and lifestyle companies., Previously served as president and managing director at Ogilvy & Mather., Led Wheatley & Timmons, a specialist consumer-brand public relations and strategy firm.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2008** — Served as president and managing director at Ogilvy & Mather; exact dates are not stated in available public biographies.
- **2008** — Listed as CEO of Chicago agency Wheatley & Timmons, which focused on food and beverage brands, product launches and consumer insight.
- **2013** — Published regularly through Emergent on healthy-living trends, retail change and relationship-led brand building.
- **2016** — Identified publicly as founder and CEO of Emergent - The Healthy Living Agency; agency materials documented work for Jamba and Schuman Cheese.
- **2024** — Published essays on retail relevance, brand belief and post-purchase engagement through Medium and MediaPost.
- **2025** — Continued writing on brand voice and reputation, and appeared as press contact in Oobli's work on protein-sweetened food and beverage products.
- **2026** — LinkedIn activity shows continued essays about trust, strategic focus, human-led engagement and brand fandom.

## Achievements

- Founded Emergent, a Chicago brand and communications agency focused on food, beverage and lifestyle companies.
- Previously served as president and managing director at Ogilvy & Mather.
- Led Wheatley & Timmons, a specialist consumer-brand public relations and strategy firm.
- Helped develop the True Cheese trust-mark program for Schuman Cheese, pairing a consumer-facing seal with third-party product testing.
- Contributed strategy to Jamba's shift from smoothie-shop positioning toward a broader healthy-lifestyle brand.
- Published commentary on branding, consumer behavior and reputation for more than a decade across Emergent, MediaPost, LinkedIn and Medium.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Published LinkedIn commentary on building what he called a trust engine for brands.
- **2026-07** — Published an essay on brand fandom and the newer rules of building brands that matter.
- **2026-06** — Wrote about intentional strategic sacrifice and human-led engagement amid AI-authored content.
- **2025-02** — Published a MediaPost column on elevating brand voice and reputation through a clear point of view.

## Links

- Website: https://emergenthealthyliving.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertwheatley
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/bobwheatley

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/robert-wheatley
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27