Leeds-based Thompson Brand Partners has appointed a new Creative Director for the first time in its 35-year history.
Bob Sanderson joins after running his own agency for the last 15 years, working for clients including Coca-Cola and Haagen-Dazs. One of his most notable projects was creating a visual identity system for Visa at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
He said: “Thompson’s commitment to delivering award-winning, strategy-led design work is exactly in line with my own. It’s a rare opportunity: the foundations and reputation are already there, there’s a brilliant base of household name clients, the team is fantastic and ready to grow.
“For me, it’s about taking that reputation, talent, strategic thinking and thought- leadership, and amplifying it – and that’s not an opportunity I could miss.”
Founder Ian Thompson will support Sanderson in an Executive Creative Director role.
Meanwhile, Mark Runacus, former co-owner of London-based advertising agency Karmarama, has been appointed to the Board as Non-Executive Director.
Runacus is Planning Partner and Co-Founder of new hybrid creative/media agency Wax/On, Non-Executive Chairman of the DMA (UK) Group and President of advertising’s LGBT+ network PrideAM.
Davnet Reid, Head of Marketing Performance at Sky Bet, has also joined as Non-Executive Director, taking up the position of Chair of the Board. With more than 15 years of client-side experience she will lend crucial client insight, helping the management team deliver insight-led services and products.
The hires follow Sue Beevers, previously MD of Brahm and Jaywing, who joined last year to lead on operations, bolstering the team and improving processes and profitability.
