TLDR: Global agency Iris has appointed Charlotte Bruton as its new Director of Innovation, AI, and Technology, alongside Erika Van Den Berg as Commercial Partner and Pumie Msengana as Managing Partner. These strategic hires aim to enhance Iris’ creative and technical capabilities, particularly in emerging technologies like AI, AR, and VR, reinforcing the agency’s ‘Participate or Perish’ philosophy.
Global creative agency Iris has announced a significant expansion of its senior leadership team, introducing a newly created role of Director of Innovation, AI, and Technology. This pivotal position has been filled by Charlotte Bruton, who joins Iris from Clemenger BBDO/CHE Proximity Australia. Her mandate is to consolidate the agency’s innovation and technology functions under a single vision, thereby accelerating Iris’ creative and technical prowess.
Bruton brings over two decades of experience in advertising and digital marketing, with a distinguished career focused on the transformative impact of emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR), on communication strategies and business operations. Her expertise encompasses designing strategic plans, managing complex technical projects, and consistently delivering strong operational and financial outcomes. Notably, in her previous role as Technology and Innovation Director, Bruton spearheaded AI and machine-learning integration for prominent global clients such as Samsung, Nutricia, and Virgin Velocity. Her portfolio includes acclaimed work on predictive analytics, generative AI systems, and mixed-reality experiences, exemplified by Samsung’s ‘Clash of the Commuters Fortnite’ campaign and the ‘Flipversing’ activation for Galaxy Flip4, both recognized for leveraging emerging technology to create engaging, participative creative platforms.
Reporting directly to Global Chief Creative Officer Menno Kluin, Bruton will be responsible for steering Iris’ overarching innovation agenda. This includes overseeing AI adoption, developing emerging-tech strategies, leading rapid prototyping initiatives, and curating creative showcases.
This key appointment follows two other significant additions to Iris’ leadership team earlier in the year. Erika Van Den Berg has joined as Commercial Partner, bringing over 16 years of experience in client finance and commercial leadership from Accenture Song. Her role will involve evolving Iris’ commercial models to enhance client value and foster progressive, partnership-based growth across the agency. Concurrently, Pumie Msengana has been appointed as Managing Partner, joining from Modern Citizens. Msengana will bolster Iris’ client leadership and operational excellence, drawing on her extensive experience at agencies like Ogilvy, WCRS, and DraftFCB, where she led integrated campaigns for major brands including Unilever, Mondelez, Santander, and Philips. She is also a vocal advocate for nurturing young talent and promoting diversity within the industry.
Iris emphasizes that these collective senior appointments underscore its ongoing commitment to diverse leadership and excellence in innovation. The agency is actively building momentum around its core ‘Participate or Perish’ proposition, which aims to empower brands to forge meaningful connections and participation within contemporary culture.
Zoe Eagle, Chief Executive of Iris London, commented on Bruton’s appointment: “Charlotte is idea-oriented, creatively ambitious and a true team player. Her combination of vision and tenacity is rare and exciting, and she’ll be an integral part of continuing to raise our creative game. She brings the ability to harness bleeding-edge technology to reimagine what’s possible for brands participating in culture, perfectly embodying the spirit of our proposition.”
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Bruton expressed her enthusiasm, stating: “Iris has always stood for brave, participative creativity – the kind that invites people in rather than talking at them. That spirit aligns perfectly with how I see the role of technology: a driver of connection, creativity and positive change. I’m thrilled to join the team and help shape how we experiment with AI, immersive tech and new creative systems to deliver meaningful work for our clients and their audiences.”
