LONDON — Red Consultancy has appointed its first managing director, rehiring Isobel Coney, who originally joined the agency as a graduate in 2001.

Coney left Red four years ago to join FleishmanHillard in California as SVP and partner, where she led brand marketing for Los Angeles, business development for the western region and the Samsung Global Mobile account.

Before departing in 2017, Coney had risen to MD of Red’s Play consumer technology and lifestyle unit, winning clients including Samsung UK, Activision, and Emirates.

Her new role is a first for the Huntsworth-owned agency. Coney will report directly to CEO Mike Morgan, who said: “Isobel not only brings deep experience of winning and leading major clients but crucially understands what makes our agency culture tick.  She returns with even broader global experience to enhance an already very strong Red Consultancy leadership team.”

Coney will take up the new post this summer. She said: “It’s very much unfinished business for me. Red Consultancy has always been a creative and client service powerhouse. Right now, the agency’s core consumer, corporate, technology and social units are really delivering, and my task now is to support the agency’s next phase of growth.”

Over the past year Red has won a number of consumer clients, including Sky Mobile and Sony PlayStation, both led by Danny Whatmough, who joined from Weber Shandwick in 2019 to head up Play and the agency’s social unit Shiny.

The agency has also strengthened its financial services offer through a strategic alliance with Huntworth sister agency, Citigate Dewe Rogerson; the agencies were recently jointly appointed by Virgin Money.