Founders Makers names managing director

London-headquartered brand agency Founders Makers has promoted Merryn Mackinnon to managing director as it prepares to expand into new international markets.

Merryn steps into the newly created role with responsibility for the agency’s commercial performance, client growth strategy and day-to-day leadership of its senior team.

She will lead the UK and Europe business while overseeing expansion into the US and Middle East alongside co-founders Faraz Aghaei and Nick Horowitz.

Merryn said: “I want to elevate what founders Faraz and Nick have built and make us the agency that ambitious founders call first. 

“We may not be the biggest, but because we think and act like founders. 

“We work with fast-growing brands that need an agency team in the trenches with them as they scale. 

“My job is to make sure we're organised, profitable, and visible enough to be in the room with the right founders, CMOs, investors and intermediaries.”

The promotion follows a period of growth for Founders Makers, which works with founder-led and fast-scaling businesses and has expanded its client base across FMCG, entertainment and fintech.

Recent clients include Tilray, Trusted Housesitters and S60 Ventures.

Alongside its international expansion, the agency is launching two new services: Makers Boiler Room, a strategy and creative sprint model for founder-led brands, and Founders Makers Leaders, which focuses on executive profiles and thought leadership.

Nicholas Horowitz, co-founder and chief executive, added: “Everything at Founders Makers gets approached with what we call a Slingshot State of Mind, and nobody embodies it like Merryn. 

“Clients see it in how she matches the work ethic of the founders we serve, always finding the fastest, smartest route to the target. 

“Internally, she’s pushed us to be better from her first week. 

“I give it a year before I’m surplus to requirements and back on the coffee run.”

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