Senior management changes have been made at R/GA, an Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) shop. R/GA global chief creative officer Tiffany Rolfe has additionally taken on responsibilities including company vision, culture and business leadership as chair of the agency. And her partner in leading R/GA will be Robin Forbes, currently global chief client officer, who steps up as interim CEO. This succession plan coincides with the departure of current global CEO Sean Lyons, who is pursuing a new opportunity. Lyons will stay on through a transition period and support Rolfe and Forbes as they take on their additional responsibilities.
Rolfe and Forbes will both report to IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky.
“R/GA has always been one of the most technologically-advanced agencies, where brands turn for transformational marketing and experiences driven by creativity and innovation,” commented Krakowsky. “We thank Sean for his leadership and commitment to shaping R/GA into the recognized leader it is today and wish him well going forward. We’re also very much looking forward to supporting Tiffany, Robin and the leadership team at R/GA as they continue to define what the future of marketing can look like with work that creates valuable human experiences and taps into the potential of emerging technologies for a great portfolio of clients.”
Rolfe joined R/GA in 2018 as U.S. chief creative officer. During her five years at R/GA, she has helped elevate the agency to multiple Agency of the Year nods from The Webby Awards and varied publications. Rolfe has judged and received dozens of top awards at every major creative and effectiveness competition in the industry, including best of show at the One Show, Clio Awards Grand, and Grand Prix and Titanium at Cannes. She is on the Board of One Club for Creativity, Ad Council’s Creative Committee, and Meta’s Creative Council.
Named global chief client officer last year, Forbes has held a range of leadership positions during his nine years at R/GA. He’s been responsible for growth, operations, and new business development for some of the agency’s largest clients, including Verizon and Samsung. He has also served as managing director of R/GA’s 700-person New York office, after which Forbes went on to oversee the company’s U.S. region, prior to being promoted to his current global executive role.
Rolfe commented, “I wish Sean all the best in his next opportunity and I’m proud of what we have built over the last five years–during a time of tremendous change for the industry and the world. I’m honored to take on the additional role as chair and build on the recent changes that we have begun to implement with our new ‘Distributed Creativity’ model. In partnership with Robin and the rest of our terrific leadership team, we will continue to define an exciting future for our clients, and for R/GA.”
Rolfe and Forbes, together with R/GA’s leadership team, will build on R/GA’s recent success. R/GA’s culture-shaping creative work continues to be recognized in the industry including the highly awarded Reddit’s “Superb Owl,” Verizon’s 5G Fortnite stadium, and Sephora’s “Black Beauty is Beauty.” The team also made significant strides in becoming a more diverse and inclusive workplace, including being one of the first agencies to publish their diversity data to the industry.
“R/GA is a special place filled with talented people,” said Forbes. “The magic mix of creativity, design and technology is what propels the company forward. I am excited to partner with Tiff and the rest of the R/GA leadership team to build on our DNA and deliver on our purpose to design brands for a more human future. I want to personally thank Sean for his leadership, for building on the legacy of R/GA, and for laying the groundwork for our next chapter.”
In addition to R/GA, IPG global brands include Acxiom, Craft, FCB, FutureBrand, Golin, Huge, Initiative, IPG Health, Jack Morton, Kinesso, MAGNA, Matterkind, McCann, Mediahub, Momentum, MRM, MullenLowe Group, Octagon, UM, and Weber Shandwick. IPG is an S&P 500 company with total revenue of $10.93 billion in 2022.
