Report: Saatchi Founder Headed to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Andy Murray, founder and former CEO of international advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi X of Springdale, is set to join Wal-Mart Stores Inc., according to a report from online news outlet mediabistro.com.

Murray will work for the company as senior vice president/creative, according to the report.

A phone call to Murray was not immediately returned.

After retiring from Saatchi, Murray launched Mercury 11 in April 2011. The cloud-based social media/marketing company has no physical address, but is headquartered in Fayetteville.

On August 19, global agency Project:Worldwide announced its intent to acquire Mercury 11 and merge it with its own Dallas-based shopper engagement unit dubbed Shoptology

Murray, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, spent a decade working at Procter & Gamble, including two years at its Fayetteville office from 1992 to 1994.

From there, he moved to DaySpring Cards Inc. in Siloam Springs, where he worked three years as director of marketing and product development.

Murray then formed his own company, BrandWorks Consulting, in 1997 and eventually counted Procter & Gamble as a client.

Rapid growth in that endeavor resulted in a merger with Mike Thompson’s Fayetteville-based advertising agency in 1999.

By 2004, ThompsonMurray had grown to about 120 people and was doing shopper marketing for more and more clients.

As a result, ThompsonMurray was sold to Saatchi and Saatchi, resulting in Saatchi and Saatchi X.

Murray eventually helped open 15 offices around the world before leaving in 2011.