Independent creative agency JOAN London has strengthened its senior team with four new hires, poaching top names from the competition.
Rebecca Rowntree joins as creative director from Leo Burnett, while creative duo Thorbjørn Liljegren and Christine Jensen come on board as senior creatives after their tenure at Anomaly. George Fox, former business director at adam&eve, will also take on the role of business director.
These appointments are effective immediately, with Rowntree, Liljegren, and Jensen reporting to executive creative director Kirsty Hathaway and Fox reporting to managing director Tom Ghiden.
In her role as creative director, Rowntree will oversee JOAN London’s creative accounts and aid in the expansion of the agency’s creative offerings.
She brings more than a decade of experience from firms including Stink Studios and Saatchi & Saatchi.
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Rowntree has also managed campaigns for high-profile brands such as Nike, Sainsbury’s, Playstation and Uber, as well as playing a part in Bodyform’s acclaimed #Wombstories campaign. In 2017, she founded the successful female entrepreneur events and podcast platform, Get Sh*t Done, which ranked fifth on iTunes’ top podcasts.
Fox spent 11 years at adam&eve, where he rose from intern to business director and managed campaigns for influential brands such as EA Sports, Playstation, Heineken and Unilever. He described the move to JOAN London as “a no-brainer”.
The award-winning duo Liljegren and Jensen have previously led campaigns for brands including Expedia, MINI, Google and Johnny Walker.
Rowntree said: “Our shared passion for pushing boundaries and disrupting traditional narratives is what drew me to the role and I look forward to this next chapter helping the business reach new creative highs.”
JOAN was founded in 2016 in New York by Lisa Clunie and Jaime Robinson, combining the creative power and agility of a small agency with the global capabilities associated with larger firms. The London branch launched in 2023.
“I’m so excited about the diversity of thought in this creative team,” Hathaway said.
“Each passionate about an audience-first and culturally relevant approach to work that is going to continue to set JOAN London out from the crowd.”
