M/SIX hires EMEA and worldwide chief strategy officer

M/SIX has appointed Shula Sinclair as its inaugural EMEA and worldwide chief strategy officer. 

She joins from Publicis Media agency Spark Foundry, where she was global head of strategy.

Sinclair is the first senior leadership appointment under new global chief executive and managing partner Jack Swayne, who last week took over the day-to-day running of M/SIX from long-serving leader Jess Burley, who has become executive chair.

Sinclair will be responsible for leading strategy across M/SIX’s 40 offices and will work on group strategy for the agency’s part-owner The & Partnership. 

She has more than 25 years of experience in creative, client and media roles. Over the past three years at Spark Foundry, she focused on media strategy for major clients including GSK, Marriott International, Mondelez, McCormick and UBS. She has also previously held a senior strategy role at Wavemaker and worked at creative agencies J Walter Thompson (now Wunderman Thompson), FCB and M&C Saatchi.

In the past two years, M/SIX has grown its media billings by 31%, adding new clients Discovery, Jabra CBRE, Whirlpool, Ocado, National Express and Puma. The agency has about 1,200 staff and annual media billings of $1.5bn (£1.1bn). 

“We have grown significantly over the course of the pandemic, and at the heart of that growth has been blending media and tech, commerce and creative to take our clients further, faster,” Swayne said. “Therefore, I am absolutely thrilled that Shula, with her unique experience across media, creative and CX, will be joining to accelerate our models for M/SIX clients across Europe and the globe.” 

Sinclair said: “I was bowled over by the sheer talent and entrepreneurial spirit within M/SIX. Their ambition and can-do attitude is infectious and the opportunity to do great work is immense. I can’t wait to embark on this exciting challenge.”