LONDON — MSL UK has appointed three new managing partners, with specialisms in ESG, corporate reputation, social media, influencer marketing and consumer PR, as it seeks to accelerate growth in 2022.

Natasha Plowman (pictured, left) joins the agency from HSBC, where she was global head of communications strategy, to lead ESG and corporate reputation. Plowman’s 20 years of experience spans corporate, FMCG, government, NGOs and start-ups, including campaigns such as ‘This Girl Can’ for Sport England. She also spent six years at Diageo, latterly as head of corporate affairs.

Neil Kleiner (centre), the former managing director of Way To Blue, joins MSL UK to lead influencer marketing and social. Kleiner was the first head of digital at Newgate and sister consumer agency Publicasity, as well as being head of social and content at Golin, UK head of social media at Havas Media, and global social media strategist at Momentum.

Jessica Gross (right), former head of consumer for Hotwire and M&C Saatchi Talk, also joins as a managing partner, having worked with brands including Google, Very, Currys, Ubisoft, Foot Locker, EE, Johnson & Johnson, Sonos and Travelex. She was most recently director of brand, studio and social at W Communications on a contract basis.

Under the leadership of CEO Chris McCafferty and managing director Jo Grierson since late 2019, MSL UK has added the likes of Puma, Coty, Bank of America, Subway, Getir and Revolut as clients over the last two years. It has also introduced a new positioning, We Build Belief, and a data-driven insights platform, Belief Stack.

Plowman and Kleiner both start immediately, with Gross starting in February 2022. All three hires will join the MSL UK board and will report to Grierson, who said: “After two years of amazing repositioning and growth at MSL UK, we go again. In a talent market as competitive as this, it’s a real compliment to the MSL UK culture, values and belief-led proposition that three incredible leaders in Jess, Natasha and Neil have all chosen our agency for their next chapter.”