Northern Ireland PR and creative agency Smarts has appointed a European CEO to grow its business across the region.
Greg Jones will be based in the firm’s London office and will focus on driving the business in Great Britain and mainland Europe, working closely with Pippa Arlow, Smarts’ Global CEO.
The move comes at a time of strong growth for Smarts, which said it has increased its Northern Ireland workforce by 34% over the last year while continuing to grow its offices in London, New York, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Staff numbers now total 130, of which 100 work from its headquarters in Holywood.
The agency works with brands including Diageo, Bosch and Zalando as well as well-known local brands such as Bank of Ireland, Maxol and Bushmills Irish Whiskey.
“This is a huge milestone in Smarts’ history,” Pippa Arlow, Global CEO of Smarts, said. “For more than 20 years we’ve been telling engaging stories that make brands famous, changing thinking and behaviours.
“Following a period of huge success, we want to build on this momentum further by accelerating growth across our European business, and in Greg we’ve found an experienced, driven leader who shares our passion in using creativity to bring big ideas to life.”
Greg Jones spent more than six years at Mischief, the Consumer PR agency previously owned by Engine. He was managing partner at Shine Communications, and has also been a Creative Associate at Splendid, a Director at M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment and the Co-Founder and Creative Partner of PR shop Glass Jar.
“Smarts is a brilliant agency and I’m excited by the opportunity to help turbo charge its growth both in Great Britain and across Europe,” Greg said. “Pippa and the Smarts leadership team have long recognised the value of telling powerful stories through a combination of earned, creative and social and I’m looking forward to evolving this approach even further.”
