The Ingenuity Group has beefed up its Northern expansion plans with the appointment of Grace Easter into the new role of commercial director, based out of its Manchester office.
Reporting into group MD Nick Gallimore, Easter will lead the commercial strategy and drive growth in the North of England – specifically building on the success of Future Factory Manchester.
She will aim to supercharge the group’s outsourced business development offering for agencies, while also building the Ingenuity+ offering, helping brands find agency partners in the North.
With previous roles at the likes of Jaywing, where she worked as partnership director, she was also head of projects at Blacks Visual and held commercial director roles in both London and New York at Harlequin Design.
Easter brings with her a wealth of experience working with leading brands, including Yorkshire Tea, Merrell, Apple, John Lewis, Michael Kors, Dior, Stella McCartney, Adidas, Lacoste, and Alexander Wang.
Her appointment is designed to strengthen Ingenuity’s footprint across the UK, with the strategic hire building on ongoing investment in the region through initiatives including MAD//North, The Agency Curve North Community – as well as Ingenuity’s PR offering for agencies in the North and Future Factory Manchester’s business development services.
Easter said: “I’m starting a role where I can help grow our presence in the North – something I really care about. I can clearly see the trajectory the company is on, and I wanted to be part of that journey. I look forward to working with an already high-performing team to build on that momentum.”
Gallimore added: “We’re passionate about the North and it has long been a strategic focus for The Ingenuity Group. As we scale our presence, bringing in talent like Grace is essential. She brings genuine expertise, energy, and a clear alignment with our vision –we’re excited to have her on board.”
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