Hay was most recently based in Singapore as Social@Ogilvy’s managing director for Asia-Pacific and managing director of global brand management for Ogilvy Asia-Pacific.
He has recently moved to London and his first day at Leagas Delaney was 14 March.
"They called me, and it was the proposition of a lifetime," Hay said, adding that he had just completed the Trium Executive MBA, a joint-programme by the London School of Economics, New York University’s Leonard N. Stern’s School of Business and HEC Paris.
Hay has been tasked with leading LeagasDelaney alongside the agency's chairman and co-founder Tim Delaney and help ‘transform’ the business, updating it to compete in the modern landscape.
"The challenge is that the thinking [at Leagas Delaney] is world-class, but the creative product hasn’t moved beyond ad and print. Tim [Delaney] said, ‘I need to think about the future legacy’," Hay said.
Hay outlined the goal of turning LeagasDelaney into the best creative shop in London. This involves ensuring the agency has all skills it needs.
"I need to work with our talent here and make sure they can make the transition to modern, creative work. We are also actively in the market looking for talent who are ready to get into a rocket ship that’s about to take off," Hay said.
The agency will adopt a variable model that works with the best specialists. "We will appoint strong leaders that will lead expert teams adapted to the clients and projects we’re working with," Hay said.
Success, he concluded, will be judged by the number of clients won, the amount of revenue gained and the agency’s reputation in the market.
Leagas Delaney currently has offices in London, Hamburg, Milan, Shanghai and Los Angeles. Its clients include Patek Phillipe and Lil-Lets.
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