Engine hires Y&R's Zoe Church to help clients understand new offering
The Engine Group has poached former Y&R business director Zoe Church as global director of business development as it ploughs ahead with expansion plans following its £100m acquisition by Lake Capital last year.
The deal saw market research firm ORC International and Trailer Park, an entertainment and content marketing agency, brought into the network which also houses 13 agencies including WCRS, social media agency Jam, and Mischief PR.
Lake Capital and Engine Group boss Terry Graunke told The Drum at the time it was also eyeing a number of potential acquisitions in the ad-tech, data and analytics market.
“We are in a position where we have this middle-market marketing services group, which we will spend a lot of time on until the end of the year, refining into a gaps map – looking at what we don’t have product-wise and geographically, that we want to have. And from that we will spend time in 2015 looking at hiring groups of people to fill those gaps,” he said.
In the newly created role, Church has been tapped to help clients better understand Engine Group’s new integrated offering and grow the global offering, with a particular focus on expanding its client roster.
She will be based out of the network’s New York office.
Graunke said of her appointment: “As an expert in integrating brand communications, growing organic business and facilitating new business collaboration, Zoe will be instrumental in expanding our global reach.”
Church spent 12 years at Y&R in regional and global business development roles, most recently as global director of business development where she oversaw wins, including Bank of America, Special Olympics, and extensive projects for Microsoft.
Her hire follows the departure of WCRS founder and Engine chairman and chief executive, Peter Scott, who stepped down in November last year. The move came after “careful thought about the future strategy and direction of the group.”