Campaign: The upward talent drain

Claire Hollands, CEO, comments on upward talent drain in Campaign.

The upward talent drain: pressure on juniors as ‘gurus’ depart
Senior talent departing agencies has cannibalised industry expertise, with adland leaders citing a ‘juniorisation’ of agency skillsets.

Claire Hollands, UK chief executive of Interpublic-owned MullenLowe, is more pragmatic. “The competitive nature of pitches, combined with the investment they take, means agencies must put forward their A-team. For us, this is a combination of our senior management and our best people – where possible casting against the pitch brief. With that approach, clients get the best out of the agency and the biggest value add to their brief. Will that full team work on the business? Possibly not,” she says.