We Are Social Announces Account Team Senior Hires

Global social media agency We Are Social has made a number of senior hires in its London headquarters, following new client wins and strong organic growth. 

The appointments include three group account directors, Yush Kalia, who joins from Edelman, Estela Drakic, formerly of TBG Digital and TAG’s Will Allen. 

Yush spent two years at Edelman where he was an account director, working on clients including XBox, Diageo and Unilever. Before Edelman, he worked at tech company String Labs and content marketing agency Headstream in marketing and business development.

Estela has worked across sales, management, marketing and digital sectors. Before We Are Social, she was head of e-commerce for Oh La La Cheri Brand, client services director for TBG Digital, and head of business development for Buchanan Group. 

Will had been working at global brand services agency TAG as digital account director and studio manager for four years, having previously worked at Digital Influence as a senior digital project manager. 

We Are Social has also appointed James Stapleton, Amy Mabin and Nick Friend as account directors. They join from Specific Media, Oglivy PR and Oglivy One respectively. 

The appointments follow a number of recent new client wins for We Are Social, including Tullamore Dew, HSBC and first direct, as well as strong organic growth from clients such as Danone and Heineken brands, Beats By Dre, Jaguar and Heinz. 

We Are Social’s London HQ now has a team of 145, up from 130 at the end of 2013, and the agency has 500 people globally.

Jim Coleman, managing director, We Are Social said: “We Are Social has grown at a remarkable speed since its inception six years ago. Last year alone, our team in London increased by 30% and it’s looking as though growth in 2014 will be just as strong. 

“It’s great to welcome Estela, Will, Yush, James, Amy and Nick to the team; they are an extremely talented bunch who all have different, but impressive, backgrounds. Having a broad mix of skill sets from people who are passionate about creative excellence and social media is what makes us able to deliver the best quality work for our expanding client base.”