Motel hires Will Sansom as first chief strategy officer.
Sansom spent six years at The Brooklyn Brothers.
Independent creative agency Motel has hired Will Sansom, former head of strategy at The Brooklyn Brothers, as its first chief strategy officer.
Sansom will report into founders Rob Smith and Lee Tan and lead strategy across Motel's clients.
He will work with the founders to develop the agency’s positioning, build company culture and work on new business. He joins the Motel leadership team and will become an equity partner in the business.
Smith, chief executive of Motel, said: “We are very excited to have Will on board. The standout qualities for us included his uniquely diverse CV, his infectious enthusiasm and the ready-made experience he will bring to us, having already been on the leadership team at a pioneering creative agency such as The Brooklyn Brothers.”
Sansom spent six years at The Brooklyn Brothers, working with clients such as Bumble, Mini and Visit Iceland.
He worked on “This is parenthood” for WaterWipes and “The new agenda” for the Financial Times. Sansom also designed and ran diversity and inclusion programme Night School.
Tan, chief creative officer at Motel, added: “Will’s a leader, a brilliant strategist and knows how to make great work that people will actually talk about. It’s a rare set of skills that will help us at Motel achieve our ambitions, both inside the building and for what we put out in the world.”
In 2022 The Brooklyn Brothers shut down its London business, after which Sansom became a freelance strategy consultant.
Sansom also spent 10 years at Contagious, where he ran the global consultancy division, partnering brands such as Nike, Heineken and Google.
Sansom said: “Motel’s incredible success in such a short space of time is no fluke. They combine decades of experience with an irresistible indy charm that obviously makes them a joy to work for and with. It’s no secret that our industry needs fresh, independent creative thinking more than ever, so it’s a privilege to join a crew that is clearly leading the charge.”