Steven Gray

Member-elected governance role supporting industry ethics, growth and professional development.

• Elected to board by peers, subsequently nominated as Vice Chair to become Chair in 2026
• Reversed loss-making position through restructuring and commercial initiatives
• Achieved highest membership and revenue levels post-COVID

Led strategic & commercial establishment of Omnicom's Creative Commerce capability across Europe, overseeing 4 agencies with 180+ staff across 3 countries. Agencies Managed: Haygarth, TracyLocke, Molecular, Pod Staffing.

• Group P&L leadership across €20m+ net revenues returning portfolio to profitability post-network structural change.
• Led forecasting, pipeline management, resourcing and structural transformation.
• Developed and implemented unified positioning and GTM propositions across broad range of capabilities. Creative Commerce; Ecom Content Creation; Shopper Marketing; Brand Experience; Brand Staffing.
• Led new business pitches and managed high-level client relationships for Group clients including; Philips (€2m); Kenvue (€1m); Heineken (Desperados - €750k).
• Collaborated with Omnicom senior leadership to optimise operational efficiencies and improve service delivery.

Agency leadership for Haygarth, Pod Staffing and latterly TracyLocke Europe. Setting business strategy, managing agency operations and holding senior client relationships.

• Commercial leadership resulting in 50% revenue growth (£15m) and 100% margin improvement (26% EBIT) within 5 years.
• Established TracyLocke Europe as new non-compete agency, generating £3m net revenue by second year with SC Johnson (regional shopper); Ferrero (brand activation); Bel Groupe (brand activation); HP (channel marketing); Warner Bros (channel marketing).
• Led team for joint venture (Humanity) with DDB leading to £20m Global Brand & Advertising account win for IQOS. Established and led team generating £10m of fees in year one across DDB UK network.
• Delivered high profile award wins including: Campaign Event Awards - Agency of the Year for Haygarth 2018; Campaign Event Award - Staffing Agency of the Year for Pod Staffing 2018; Effie Effectiveness Awards for TracyLocke 2019 & 2020
• Introduced new agency processes including client satisfaction surveys and hired new business intermediary resulting in £1m of incremental account wins.

Board member during sale and earn-out of independently owned agency to holding company structure (acquired by RAPP for Omnicom). Promoted through agency from Account Executive to Director in 11 years.

• Increased headline revenues and drove margin up by 50% during earn-out period.
• Established Pod Staffing and increased net revenues to £2m+ within 5 years.
• Led departments for Retail Marketing; Promotional & Shopper Marketing; Brand Experience & Staffing enhance client engagement strategies and improving service delivery.
• Led and won significant client business including: Vodafone £2m - Retail Marketing; Sony Mobile £2m -Channel Marketing; Coca-Cola £1m Shopper & Experiential; Alcon £500k Healthcare.
• Improved agency processes implementing new briefing process and ran commerciality training for staff.