The Gate completes management line-up with Burnett strategist Kit Altin

Communications group MSQ Partners and its ad agency The Gate (best known for Dave Trott’s tenure) has had its ups and downs, as have most such companies, but seems to be motoring now and has completed its new management line-up at The Gate with Leo Burnett’s former head of innovation and global planning director Kit Altin joining CEO Jamie Elliott (formerly of MulllenLowe) and ECD Beri Cheetham (also ex-Burnett – all below, Altin centre). D&AD’s Tim Lindsay is non-exec chairman.

So this is a pretty heavyweight line-up for an agency that has, so far anyway, not really punched its weight. But The Gate has recently gained a place on the Government’s agency list (a fiendishly difficult exercise) and the Greater London Authority.

CEO Elliott says: “Kit and Beri have a chemistry which has won pitches and led to highly-awarded work before. Kit’s a thoroughly modern strategist, a strong leader and has a great entrepreneurial spirit.”

MSQ Partners operates six agency brands from 25 offices worldwide, spanning advertising, public relations, design, brand strategy, direct and digital marketing. The group has 600 employees and claims a turnover of £100m with £50m in fee income so there’s some scale there.

With the really big agency groups struggling to grow in a low growth economy with big clients cutting back there may be room for some of the mid-sized operators to muscle in on their patch. It will be interesting to see how the new brooms at The Gate/MSQ progress.