Simon Spyer leaves Iris to launch 'something special'

Simon Spyer, the CEO of data driven and performance marketing at Iris, has quit the agency after eight years and is planning to launch “something special” in the near future, which will be “rooted in data, shaped by agents and built with intent”.

Spyer joined the business in 2017, along with industry “veterans” Mike Cornwell, Chris Whitson, and Jason Andrews – who even back then had spent a combined 103 years in the sector.

They went on to launch the dedicated CRM division, which also works as a standalone agency in its own right.

However, Cornwell quit within eight months, although the other three stayed the course. Whitson went on to become Iris global chief strategy officer but left last April, eventually launching start-up MW London, while Andrews is now Iris executive creative director.

“Data man” Spyer started his career client-side working at Sainsbury’s and Campbell Soup before joining Quant Marketing as a consultant, eventually becoming chief strategy officer.

He had a spell at VCCP Me and then co-founded Conduit Data Services within the VCCP Partnership in 2012, where he was partner and principal consultant.

On LinkedIn, Spyer said: “And just like that, eight years at Iris comes to a close. It’s something I’ve been planning since the start of the year but that doesn’t make it any less bittersweet.

“You don’t stay somewhere for eight years unless it challenges and rewards you in equal measures and Iris has delivered that in spades. If the Iris alumni formed an agency, it’d probably be the best agency in the world.

“To all the teams, clients and partners I’ve had the privilege to work with – thank you. I’ve learned a lot, laughed a lot and loved it all. Stay in touch.

“Next up: a quick break to recharge in Provence – and then the launch of something special. More on that soon, but for now, I’ll just say it’s rooted in data, shaped by agents and built with intent.”