Nomads, the creative agency that seems to have sprung fully-formed from the debris of Strawberry Frog in Amsterdam plus a merger with MediaCatalyst, has hired former Procter & Gamble marketing manager and digital expert Luigi Matrone (left) as its first global business director.
Nomads, which works for P&G as well as Emirates, Rolls-Royce, Sony Computer Entertainment and TNT Express, now employs over 100 people in Amsterdam, Singapore, Dubai, London, Edinburgh and Cape Town.
Matrone will oversee all P&G business, develop relationships with new global clients and oversee the marketing strategy of the agency which describes itself as a cross-discipline creative innovation agency.
Matrone says: “Joining Nomads reflects my true ambition to change the way marketing works. We want to create a new breed of agency that can introduce new frameworks to help our clients reach more consumers and add real value to their lives. I’m looking forward working with a highly talented team of Nomads around the world to deliver outstanding work.”
Nomads CEO and founder Hans Howarth says: “The appointment represents our ambition to grow by bringing the best talent in the sector to work on our clients’ businesses. Luigi’s vast digital experience at a huge brand like P&G will boost the team as we continue to grow and collaborate with our global clients.”
Clients don’t always find the switch to agencies a happy one, of course, but Matrone’s appointment appears to reflect a genuine ambition on the part of Nomads. It will be interesting to see if the agency, which opened last July, will succeed internationally on its own or join the well-trodden route to holding company ownership.
POG (or whatever the result of the Omnicom/Publicis merger is called) is due to be headquartered in Amsterdam, chiefly for tax purposes. So Nomads shouldn’t be short of offers.
