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Karmarama��has made two appointments to its C-suite in the shape of chief strategy officer Will Hodge and chief experience officer Grace Francis.

Hodge is promoted from executive strategy director to replace Sid McGrath, who is leaving the agency after 14 years. Hodge joined as planning director in 2012 from Glue Isobar, later becoming head of planning, then ESD in December 2017.

Francis, meanwhile, joins from fellow Accenture Interactive agency Droga5, where she was also chief experience officer, having joined last spring from Grey London. She will continue to work closely with other companies within Accenture Interactive, including Droga5.

Ben Bilboul, chief executive of Karmarama, said:��“We couldn’t be prouder to have our own ‘Will and Grace’, and to have a strategy offer that goes beyond communications. Brand and experience strategy will join up the work we do in campaigns with the work we do in products and platforms for Karmarama and our interlock with Accenture Interactive.��

"It’s re-energising to be able to look forward to a new era, as brand and experience strategy become ever-more central to our clients’ business and communications needs.”

McGrath, who started his career as a brand marketer at Procter & Gamble, joined Karmarama in 2006 from United London, previously HHCL, where he was head of planning and managing director.��

Paying tribute to McGrath, Bilboul added: “Sid was a central player in Karmarama’s journey from tiny independent agency to a fully integrated, leading creative business that now sits at the heart of Accenture Interactive. He’s a huge talent and everyone at Farringdon Road will join me in wishing him well.”

Karmarama's second-most senior strategist is now Amy Gilmore, who joined in January from Grey London as head of planning.