Founder and CEO Sami McCabe is leaving the agency after 10 years
Digital marketing and strategic communications agency Clarity today announced the departure of founder and CEO Sami McCabe. After a decade of focusing on both sustained organic and acquisition-driven growth, Sami has now decided to focus on other projects. Rachel Gilley has been appointed as the new CEO.
"It is time to hand over the CEO baton to Rachel Gilley. Rachel has been crucial to Clarity's growth since she joined us five years ago," says Sami. "She has led operations in Europe, managed the agency's largest office in London and supported me in the global leadership team. I leave Clarity as a strong and vibrant agency, with an exceptional CEO and an outstanding international team, delivering world-class digital marketing and communications services to a fantastic client portfolio."
Rachel joined Clarity as Managing Director for the UK, after 20 years' service at Bite Communications (now Archetype). She was then appointed to lead Clarity's operations in the EMEA region, before taking on the role of Global Chief Client Officer in 2022. During this time, she helped transform Clarity into a globally integrated communications agency with offices in Europe, North America and Australia. The Clarity team has grown with her from 40 to 150 employees.
In the past 18 months, Clarity's service offering has also expanded significantly, through the acquisitions of public affairs agency Political Intelligence UK and of Sefiani, a strategic communications, crisis and reputation management consultancy based in Sydney
As CEO, Rachel will be supported by a leadership team consisting of Tom Telford (President Digital Marketing), Nick Lansman (President Public Affairs), Robyn Sefiani (President APAC & Reputation Counsel) and Will Julian-Vicary (Head of Technology).
Rachel on her new role as CEO: "I was honoured when Sami asked me to take on the role of CEO and I am thrilled to be working with this brilliant, global team. I joined the agency in 2019 because I believed in Sami's vision - to create an international agency positioned in whitespace between the big global traditional agencies and boutiques. Thanks to Sami and the culture he has created, we have been able to hire top talent and realise that vision. Our goal is and will continue to be to support our clients, many of whom are founded in the belief that technology can move us forward towards a healthier, more prosperous, sustainable and equitable future, with an integrated suite of services."
"2023 was a difficult year for many around the world, but as an agency we have been able to continue to make positive impact for our clients, including in new industries and regions. We are incredibly proud of recent successes, including attracting new clients such as LastPass, Volvo Group, Glaukos, B. Braun, Garrison, Etsy, the Australian Mobile Telecommunication Association, Omada Identity and Vivup."
