R/GA Appoints Omur Kula as Managing Director for Istanbul

R/GA has officially appointed Omur Kula as the new Managing Director for its Istanbul office, as part of a strategic restructure of its EMEA operations in the region. A proven agency leader in the region, having held the position of Managing Director at Tribal Worldwide Istanbul prior to joining R/GA, Omur will be responsible for R/GA’s long-term vision and strategy in the region, as well as managing all operations and client relationships for R/GA’s Istanbul office. The decision to appoint Omur as MD is part of a strategic commitment by R/GA to invest long-term in the region and to further establish its local strategic and design capabilities. Omur joined R/GA in January and officially succeeds Sertan Eratay, who after over two highly successful years establishing and leading the Istanbul office as Managing Director, is leaving to pursue new opportunities outside of R/GA. Omur will report into Matt Lodder, EVP Managing Director R/GA EMEA.

“Omur’s extensive industry and agency experience in Istanbul will play an invaluable part in ensuring that the right working practices and culture are in place to allow the agency to act as a trusted partner to its clients in Istanbul.” said Matt Lodder, EVP Managing Director R/GA EMEA “As we enter our fifth year of business in Istanbul, we’re focusing on what we need to invest in to deliver the next five years of transformative partnerships with the leading brands of the region. Omur’s appointment as managing director is a key step in this commitment. We are also delighted to have another senior woman join R/GA’s EMEA executive leadership team.”

Omur has a deep background in product and service design, both agency and client side, and will be leading a strategic recruitment drive to establish local strategic and creative capabilities. R/GA has established a truly integrated team structure across EMEA, involving its offices in London, Bucharest, Berlin and Istanbul – and Omur will be working in collaboration with these offices to provide global perspective with local insights and talents.

This unique combination of global and local creative and strategic talent enables the agency to deliver on its promise to transform both brand and business. R/GA is currently working with leading Turkish brands such as Akbank, Turkcell and Dogus Group, and the hire of Omur will ensure that these partnerships are stronger than ever.

“I am thrilled to be appointed Managing Director of R/GA’s Istanbul office, as I look to help build upon the office’s success by driving new business and attracting the region’s best talent.” said Omur Kula, Managing Director R/GA Istanbul “The products and services that the office is creating for our partners in Istanbul are delivering true competitive advantage, and positioning our clients leaders in their respective sectors on a global scale. I’m very excited about the transformative potential of R/GA’s unique model and consultative, design-led approach for clients in the region”.

An industry expert with over 15 years’ experience, Omur has worked closely with clients in the region to help innovate work that spans product design, brand strategy, marketing and communications. She previously led the Strategy teams at DDB Group in Turkey for 5 years, then joining Finansbank, to launch Turkey’s first digital-only banking brand, Enpara.com. Here she was responsible for customer experience and product design of the direct banking brand, along with its brand creation and its marketing and communications activities. Prior to joining R/GA, she led the transformation of Tribal WW Istanbul as MD, evolving the office into a full service agency. Here she partnered with clients including Unilever, Vodafone and Turkish Telecom as  Tribal was awarded the New Generation Agency of the Year and went on to become one of the most awarded agencies in the industry. Graduating from Izmir American Collegiate Institute, Omur has completed her BA in Economics and MA in Visual Arts and Visual Communication Design in Sabanci University. She is an appointed executive board member in ERG and elected member of the board for the Advertising Association. She was recognised amongst the 40 under 40 by Forbes last year.