Brands and digital agencies increasingly on hunt for more transparent programmatic ad trading partnerships - says Essence’s new global CEO

"This is the opposite of the real-time-bidding (RTB) promise, and counter to our clients best interests," he said, adding that the best approach is to work closely alongside a client to identify and apply the proper value to all costs across the programmatic value chain.

"We provide 100 per cent transparency to cost of media, technology, and service fees to help reduce the technology tax and various mark ups our clients see from other agencies," he said.

“The analytical and technical foundations of the business have become exponentially more powerful right now…When you think about this return on intelligence the actual buying and planning of media becomes less significant, and the ability to identify specific audiences and reach out through exchanges and DSPs becomes a much more powerful lever.

“Increasingly we think agencies are going to be asked more for insights and execution. They’re going to be looking for more collaboration, more co-invention and they’re looking for programmatic solutions that aren’t single item, black box, line items but thinking about audiences and messaging together to drive relevance and effectiveness.”

Juhl, who joined Essence in October 2013 from Razorfish, where he was president of the agency’s West region, also told The Drum about his priorities for the role.

“The first part is to continue the great work we’ve been doing, and to continue to hire, recruit and retain the best people in the industry. I think the most accelerated change is developing a management team and leadership structure around the world that can support that growth.”

Juhl also revealed that Essence is developing its own audience platform system, working with clients to "harness the power of programmatic" either in a custom way or its own technology systems.

Meanwhile, in his new role of executive chairman, Isaacs has been tasked with overseeing the Board of Directors, supporting the execution of corporate strategy and acting as brand guardian. Essence’s two other founding partners are also taking on new roles today - Andrew Shebbeare, previously chief strategist and based out of the agency’s San Francisco office, will be moving into the role of founding partner and global innovation director. Andy Bonsall, formerly CIO and located in New York, will now be executive consultant. Both Shebbeare and Bonsall will be relocating back to London in their new positions in Autumn.