Rachit Vats
Advertising

Alok Lall of Saatchi & Saatchi joins iris as MD

Lall says he was hooked by the youthful energy of the business, the infectious sense of fun and creativity that he felt was attractive to both clients and agency talent

Alok Lall, who quit Saatchi & Saatchi in February, has been roped in by the London based independent global marketing agency, iris. He joins iris as its managing director in India.

Says Lall, “What attracted me to iris was the youthful energy of the business. It is a refreshing change to working in the large networks. There is an infectious sense of fun and creativity that is attractive to clients and agency talent alike.”

Other senior appointments include Kenneth Augustine who has been appointed as creative director. Prior to this, Augustine has worked at Lowe Advertising and, most recently, had joined Capital Advertising.

Alok Lall of Saatchi & Saatchi joins iris as MD
Alok Lall
“iris has a terrific history in investing in great creative products,” says Augustine. “One need only look at the award winning international work the agency has created for brands such as adidas, Shell, CNN and Sony to understand what attracted me.”

Stewart Shanley, global CEO, says, “India is a key influencer in the future of our worldwide campaigns. The Indian management team will play a central role in helping shape and drive the international work of our global clients.”

“It’s been great to bag two of India’s brightest talents for the agency. We are looking at a number of high profile appointments to really put a marker in the ground about our intention in the region. The old network agencies have had it their own way for too long. The marketplace is crying out for an alternative and we are relishing the prospect of shaking things up.”

iris, an independent integrated marketing agency, works across all media and all disciplines. It was established in 1999 by Ian Millner and Stewart Shanley. The agency has shown considerable development in the last seven years, employing more than 300 people and growing by at least 50 per cent year on year every year.

Following its success in establishing its London operation, iris is now in the advanced stages of establishing itself as an independent global micro network. This has been achieved through a four year long organic diversification process by both geography and by discipline. iris now has regional hubs of strategic and creative excellence in New York, London and Singapore, as well as specialist branded offerings in the experiential, PR, direct, digital and analytics spaces.

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com