LONDON — Taylor Herring has expanded its leadership team with the appointment of Charlie McWilliams as head of strategy, as the agency embarks on what it described as an “aggressive” expansion drive for the year ahead.

McWilliams has been contracting at Taylor Herring since October, and joins the agency in the permanent role after three years at Diageo, where he led the European PR and influencer strategy for the drinks giant’s luxury and scotch whisky portfolio before going on to head up PR for Guinness.

Before Diageo, McWilliams was at SEO agency Distilled, which was merged into digital marketing agency Brainlabs in May last year. He has also worked at Kaper and Citizen Relations.

In his new role, McWilliams will be leading the strategic direction of some of the agency’s biggest accounts, shaping long-term integrated programmes across content production, influencer marketing and editorial media. Taylor Herring’s client list includes EasyJet, Disney, Kellogg’s, Samsung, Subway, Sky and Santander.

Taylor Herring CEO James Herring said the appointment followed a series of recent account wins that meant additional resource in strategic planning, consumer insight and data-led research had become a priority for the business.

Herring added “Charlie brings a wealth of experience to the agency and we’re delighted to have him on board to add further strength and depth to the leadership team’

McWilliams said: “I am over the moon to be joining such a progressive and creative agency. I’ve been a huge fan of the campaigns they produce and have always looked on enviously at the quantity of awards they pick up. Their creative work is industry leading, and I’m delighted to be part of the team.”