R/GA London Hires Iain Preston as Exec Director Client Services EMEA

R/GA London, the company that delivers transformation at speed, announces the hire of Iain Preston as Executive Director Client Services for EMEA.

Iain joins R/GA from Publicis Groupe, where he held the role of Global Client Leader, and will be responsible for overseeing R/GA’s client engagements in EMEA, leading strategic partnerships to help clients navigate industry disruption, and ensuring R/GA’s client services team drive organic growth – both for R/GA’s business and its client’s products and services. His hire is a significant strategic move as the agency looks to evolve its approach to client services and inject more consultative thinking to drive trusted long-term client relationships. Iain will report into Matt Lodder, EVP Managing Director R/GA EMEA.

“Iain’s appointment is designed to help us disrupt the traditional agency approach to client services. Our shared vision with Iain is that client services will become the engine room and catalyst for strategic client engagements in its many forms, bringing together diverse talent to answer client needs and deliver transformative work. We are delighted he’s joining us.” said Matt Lodder, EVP Managing Director, R/GA EMEA

With R/GA now offering clients an expanded set of capabilities including consulting, ventures, marketing communications, architecture, and IP development services, in addition to its award-winning design practice, Iain will ensure that all these unique propositions ultimately help clients develop innovative new directions for their business to grow. Also part of Iain’s role will be to collaborate with global stakeholders in honing R/GA’s client-facing propositions, while also driving excellence in client satisfaction, financial performance and brand perception.

“R/GA embodies the entrepreneurial and innovative culture that, in our changing world of client engagement, means we have a tremendous proposition to help clients uncover new areas for growth” said Iain Preston, Executive Director Client Services R/GA. “Upon meeting Matt and the leadership team, I was truly inspired by the direction the agency was moving. Without doubt, R/GA is still the most unique transformation partner in our industry for clients, and I am delighted to be joining to help transform the Client Services offering to help enable brands to take advantage of R/GA’s diverse blend of capabilities”.

An industry veteran with over 17 years working in digital client services, Iain joins R/GA from Publicis Groupe where he held the role of Global Client Leader. During his time at Publicis as a GCL, Iain was responsible for leading the client vision for Sanofi, acting as a key business partner in their business transformation and ensure they accessed the right talent and capabilities across the globe. Prior to joining Publicis Groupe, Iain held the position of Director, Digital Innovation Group (DIG), at DigitasLBi. While at DigitasLBi he worked as part of the leadership team, in partnership with AstraZeneca, to take a fresh look at the biggest challenges in healthcare today and identifying new ways of changing people's lives for the better through digital innovation. During his ten years working at DigitasLBi, Iain oversaw accounts including BT, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, The FT, Deutsche Telekom, Starwood Hotels, Foot Locker and Microsoft.