MEC Global Solutions, MEC’s international hub based in London, has made a significant investment in talent, hiring three new faces to join their international strategy team in addition to the three senior strategists already in place.
Chris Worrell, Francis Turner and Filippo Giannelli have been headhunted to further strengthen the team, working on the agency’s international clients including Vodafone, SABMiller, Johnson & Johnson, Beiersdorf and Activision Blizzard.
Chris, Francis and Filippo join Strategy Partners Andy Reynolds and Shula Sinclair, creating a group of diversified talent and experience, headed by Stuart Sullivan-Martin, Chief Strategy Officer for Global Solutions and EMEA.
Commenting on the appointments, Stuart Sullivan-Martin said, ‘MEC has a heritage of excellence in communications planning, and that’s all about A+ people. The team’s remit includes working with our regional and international clients, spreading the insight derived from our industry leading approach to the consumer purchase journey (MEC Momentum), and working alongside the talented strategists in MEC’s local markets on our new operating system for planning: Thrive5. The number of regional and global media relationships we have with clients is only going to increase – so this is an exciting time and we’re gearing for growth.’
Chris Worrell joins as Group Strategy Director. Chris has more than 10 years’ experience working with clients such as McDonalds, Vodafone, Easyjet and Carlsberg. Previously he was Insight Director with OMD UK and held a European role with Specific Media. Chris’ work has been covered by BBC, The Daily Mirror, Wall Street Journal and Sky News, and he is a sought after speaker at international industry events such as IAB Engage and DMEXCO.
Francis Turner joins as Strategy Director. With a background in PR, Francis has experience working clients such as Mars Food, John Frieda and Group Lactalis, latterly as Planning Director at Zenith Optimedia. Francis is also an aspiring stand-up comedian.
Filippo Giannelli joins as a Strategist. He comes to MEC from TBWA/OMD working with Apple, and previous to that an independent creative agency in Florence, Italy.
Shula Sinclair joined MEC as Strategy Partner in September 2013, from DraftFCB where she was Regional Planning Director. After 17 years in the industry, Shula has expertise across numerous sectors including FMCG, Finance, Automotive, Travel, and Beauty. She has delivered a range of activity across multiple channels from ATL and digital to PR for a host of major brands including Hyundai, Oreo and Nivea. Her work has been recognized with several industry awards.
Andy Reynolds joined MEC as Strategy Partner earlier in 2014. He came from OMD where he was the Executive Director of Strategy working as lead strategist on pan-regional clients such as Sony, PepsiCo and Nissan. He has a strong focus on integrated communications – ATL, digital in all its forms, and branded entertainment. Since joining MEC, his work with Paramount has won several industry awards, notably a gold at the recent M&M awards.
This announcement follows those made by the agency within digital, data and analytics, and cements MEC Global Solutions’ position as the Centre of International Excellence for clients across the EMEA region.