Independent agency Joan London has made four new hires – including three senior creatives – as it continues its expansion strategy after launching in the UK last June as an offshoot of the New York-based agency and its full-service maker studio, Joan Studios.
The London office has been set up as a springboard for global expansion as the US agency – co-founded by Lisa Clunie and Jaime Robinson in 2016 – aims to capture a slice of the UK and EMEA market.
Rebecca Rowntree joins from Leo Burnett as creative director, with Anomaly’s creative duo, Thorbjørn Liljegren and Christine Jensen, as senior creatives. George Fox, former business director at Adam & Eve is appointed the role of business director.
Effective immediately, Rowntree, Liljegren and Jensen will report to executive creative director Kirsty Hathaway, while Fox will report to managing director Tom Ghiden.
Rowntree will be responsible for managing Joan London’s creative accounts, while supporting the expansion of the agency’s creative offering. She has over a decade of experience in the creative industry, having worked at Stink Studios, Saatchi & Saatchi and most recently at Leo Burnett as creative director.
During her career, Rowntree has worked across campaigns for Nike, Sainsbury’s, Playstation and Uber, as well as contributing to Bodyform’s award-winning ‘#Wombstories’ campaign.
In 2017, Rowntree founded the female entrepreneur events and podcast platform, Get Sh*t Done, which features in fifth place on iTunes top podcasts.
Rowntree said: “I am thrilled to be joining Joan London at what is a really exciting time for the business. Our shared passion for pushing boundaries and disrupting traditional narratives is what drew me to the role and I look forward to this next chapter helping the business reach new creative highs.”
In addition, multi-award winning creatives Liljegren and Jensen both join from Anomaly as senior creatives. In their previous roles, they have led campaigns for brands such as Expedia, Mini, Google and Johnny Walker.
Kirsty Hathaway said: “We are thrilled to be expanding our creative team, and with such incredible talent and expansive minds to boot. Rebecca, Christine and Thor bring a wealth of expertise, having worked across some of the industry’s most renowned campaigns.
“I’m so excited about the diversity of thought in this creative team – each passionate about an audience-first and culturally relevant approach to work that is going to continue to set Joan London out from the crowd.”
Finally, Fox will be responsible for driving business growth for key clients. He previously spent 11 years at Adam & Eve, starting as an intern and working his way up to business director, where he delivered work for brands including EA Sports, Playstation, Heneiken and Unilever.
Tom Ghiden said: “George has the perfect mix of ambition and determination combined with rigour within his field. Joan London is a global agency with the agility of a smaller shop and George is the perfect talent who embodies joyful rebellion as we continue to grow our team and our clients.”
The London office opened with a roster of clients that includes eBay, Cereal Partners Worldwide, Rare Beauty, and start-up Luna Daily. The agency insists it pushes against what it claims is “the exclusionary nature of advertising agencies” with the bosses believing strongly that a diverse team better connects brands to culture.
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