Grey Amsterdam reorganises - creatives now on top.

While countless US agencies are doing the daft thing in order to save their bottom lines - that is firering the people who provide the product an ad agency sells - Grey Amsterdam is going in the opposite direction according to this release.

Grey Amsterdam is reorganized to have the creatives on top - Colin Lamberton and Seyoan Vela are now steering the ship.

Grey Group EMEA announces a reorganisation of its Amsterdam agency today, with a concentration on strategic and creative leadership. The no-silos, all-creativity approach focuses on holistic solutions and flexible resourcing to meet the changing communications needs of clients.

As Executive Creative Directors, Colin Lamberton and Seyoan Vela take on new leadership responsibilities to head up Grey Amsterdam, reporting directly to Carolyn Carter, Grey Group EMEA CEO, with immediate effect.

Lamberton and Vela, known for their pioneering work methods as co-founders and Creative Directors of St. Lukes, joined Grey’s EMEA team in London in 2007. They provided the creative muscle behind two successful regional wins, Toshiba and Fortis. In May 2008 they moved with the Fortis win to Amsterdam as Executive Creative Directors, to rebuild the agency as a new kind of creative resource for Grey’s local and multinational clients.

Carolyn Carter says:
“As an international city with an extraordinary talent resource, Amsterdam is a perfect market for this kind of agency. From here the team offers international clients regional and global solutions without a creative bias associated with a particular market. Whilst local clients receive the high level of talent and executional breadth they deserve.”

Former CEO Dik Klicks moves to a new role as Business Director EMEA and member of the Grey EMEA Executive Committee. Reporting directly to Carter, Klicks’ role sees him contributing to new and existing clients across the region as well as the development of the network.

Colin Lamberton says:
“We believe clients like to work closely with creatives and strategic planners who are integrally involved in the brand from the ground up. Our approach is pragmatic – in allowing for more discipline but less process we’re removing unnecessary layers which clients shouldn’t be expected to pay for. We’re freeing up space for creativity in any form throughout the process, which is more in sync with what clients are calling for.”

Seyoan Vela continues:
“We are looking to work with people who have demonstrated their ability to work across disciplines - experienced managers who consider themselves part of the creative driving force and energy of the agency. With our new structure we’re concentrating on what we consider clients value – a more focused and creative insight.”

Colin Lamberton and Seyoan Vela, Executive Creative Directors of Grey Amsterdam, began their careers at Lowe London. They joined Chiat/Day before co-founding St.Lukes. There they became Executive Creative Directors before moving to Euro RSCG. Together they have worked on award-winning campaigns for clients as diverse as Heineken, Eurostar, Body Shop, BBC Radio One, Smirnoff and the British Government.

Grey Amsterdam’s client list includes GSK, Procter & Gamble, Unilever Nederland, Fortis Bank Nederland, Toshiba Benelux, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Manpower, Sara Lee Household & Body Care Nederland, Fashioncheque, Abbot Nederland, Roche, Eli Lilly, Gemeente Lelystad, Mees Pierson and Stichting Nederland Schoon.