NEW YORK — Michael Houston, Worldwide CEO of Grey Group, has announced the launch of Grey Consulting. This new global enterprise practice for the network will draw on existing strategic planning resources, which include over 150 professionals across the world, technologists and leading-edge creative intelligence.
Leo Rayman, CEO of Grey London, has been promoted to CEO of Grey Consulting, a new global position.
“This new initiative is a key part of our agenda for Grey’s future growth and competitiveness,” Michael Houston said. “Leo has spent nearly two decades becoming one of the United Kingdom’s most forward-looking practitioners of strategic planning. That experience combined with his successful track record for business innovation while leading Grey London makes him a huge asset to our global network.”
“Our practice will go beyond traditional consulting,” Leo Rayman said. “We will combine analytical rigour with lateral creative thinking and an understanding of how to make things happen to accelerate growth for clients.”
Grey Consulting’s offering will rest on the three pillars of Business & Brand Design, Innovation and Digital Transformation to provide answers to the questions clients are now asking.
Suresh Nair, who has served as the strategic leader of the global Grey network since 2005, has been appointed Chief Creative Intelligence Officer. In this new global role, he will be responsible for growing and operating Grey’s data and analytics capabilities and integrating this intelligence organically in the agency’s creativity. He will work closely with Leo Rayman and WPP partners.
“Suresh is uniquely qualified to define how Grey can better and faster integrate consumer insight and data, analytics and research into our offering. This creative intelligence will fuel both our consulting practice and the development and delivery of our ‘Famously Effective’ creative ideas,” Michael Houston said. “He has been an integral member of the group that has led Grey’s transformation into a creative and business powerhouse over the last decade.”
Leo Rayman: Bio
Leo Rayman was promoted to CEO of Grey London in July 2016 and has overseen its continued creative and new business momentum. Key milestones include the win of M&S; their beloved Paddington Bear Christmas ad campaign and Grey’s Valenstein & Fatt diversity initiative during the agency’s centennial.
A renowned strategist, Rayman joined Grey London as Head of Planning in 2013 and rose to Grey Europe’s Chief Strategy Officer in 2015. Along the way, Grey has won the IPA Effectiveness Company of the Year; EuroEffie Agency of the Year and the Marketing Society Grand Prix two years running as well as impressive showings at Cannes. Earlier in his career, he served as Head of Planning at adam&eve, founded a successful social media division at DDB, and launched Strategic Planning at Weber Shandwick Europe.
A search is underway for his successor at Grey London.
