Sir Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital has nabbed former WPP executive Miles Young as non-executive director.
Young, who was most recently Ogilvy global chairman and chief executive, joins the company on 1 July.
He spent almost 35 years at Ogilvy, owned by Sorrell’s previous company WPP, and is currently warden of New College at the University of Oxford.
Young welcomed the chance to work with his old boss at S4 in a new set-up that is more attuned to current market conditions. "Its dramatic growth to date shows that the demand for a new approach in marketing services is high indeed," he said.
Sorrell said of Young's appointment: "His contacts with, and knowledge of, clients and people are amongst the best in the advertising and marketing services industry. "The board… is convinced he will add significant value."
S4 has been on a hiring spree over the past few years and Sorrell has recruited ex-colleagues including Scott Spirit, who had already left WPP, as chief growth officer last year.
Meanwhile, S4's data and programmatic media practice, MightyHive, announced plans to merge with Lens10, an Australian digital strategy and analytics consultancy, pending Foreign Investment Review Board and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approval.
Lens10 is S4’s second merger during the Covid-19 lockdown period, as the company seeks to continue to expand its capabilities and geographical coverage without compromising its balance sheet, which has no net debt.
Sorrell said: "Covid-19 has clearly accelerated the existing digital transformation trends affecting consumers, media owners and enterprises. As a result, data analytics will be even more important as marketers seek to fast-track digital transformation plans and we have certainly seen that in the explosive demand from our clients for these services."
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