Five by Five Bolsters Senior Leadership Team

Creative and innovation agency Five By Five grows its senior leadership team to eight, with developments in three roles. 

Stephanie O’Neil takes the title of client services director, previously held by George Roberts who now moves into the newly created role of marketing and new business director, while Hannah Weston joins as group finance director.

The appointments reflect a strong 2022 for the agency, following four new account wins (Charles Tyrwhitt, RNLI, First Bus, and Simplyhealth), as well as the arrival of new managing director, Annabel Mackie, last July.

Stephanie brings 10 years of agency experience - including more than five within WPP - with a focus on digital and social strategy, integrated campaigns and production, and customer expertise across global brands such as Facebook, Nestlé, and Unilever. She joins from Wunderman Thompson, where she has been leading on Amazon, KitKat, and Unilever accounts. She has spent the last nine months on secondment at Amazon, spearheading campaigns for their EMEA Talent Operation division, broadening her perspective and strengthening her account management know-how. 

Hannah joins after five years at Estée Lauder Companies, most recently as finance business manager, prior to which she had a four year stint as financial controller at Iris Worldwide.

George’s transition marks over 10 years at Five by Five, leading the agency’s key accounts including Activision, Amazon, B&Q, Epic Games, and Screwfix.

Annabel Mackie, managing director at Five by Five, comments, “I’m thrilled to hire both Stephanie and Hannah. They will bring fresh energy and perspective to the leadership team - which is now 75% female. I’m really excited for George to take on his new role to build on our new business successes from last year. With these last few team additions and moves we really have got a brilliant line up to partner with our clients for even more joint success.”

Stephanie O’Neil adds, “I’ve always believed a company’s biggest asset is its people, and I was blown away by the talent of Five by Five’s team. Coupled with a compelling client roster and big growth targets, I could see how my recent experience working client side could help them achieve these ambitious goals. I can’t wait to be a part of this journey, accelerating positive impact for business and society through creativity and innovation. I’m also drawn to the advantages of a growing independent agency set-up: with less red tape and the flexibility to say ‘yes’ more, it’s a brilliant foundation to develop great ideas and get them out to market quickly.”

Hannah Weston comments, “The culture of a company and working with like-minded people is one of the key things I look for in a role, and I could tell throughout the interview and onboarding process that Five by Five would be a great fit for me. I am looking forward to supporting the company through this exciting time of transformation to maximise growth at both the top and bottom line.”

George Roberts adds, “With experienced new leadership across a number of areas of the business, there has never been a more exciting and interesting time for the agency, nor a better time to head up the marketing and new business function.”