Scottish public relations and marketing giant Big Partnership has unveiled Allan Barr, director of digital, design and marketing, as its new chief executive.
He moves into a post vacated late last year, when Steve McLaughlin left the business just six months after becoming its first CEO.
Mr Barr, 40, joined Big in 2007 after working in senior communications roles with “Big Four” professional services companies KPMG and PwC.
He has been on the board at the agency since 2010 and over the past few years has led its diversification into digital, marketing and design, while also looking after some of its biggest accounts.
Zoe Ogilvie, the firm’s Aberdeen-based majority shareholder, said: “The chief executive role is a significant element in Big’s plans for continued growth.
“In Allan, we’ve got a chief executive who cares passionately about Big, our clients and our team.
“He has played a central role in the company’s success over the past decade and more, and has an in-depth understanding and knowledge of all sides of the business – PR, digital, marketing and creative.
“He is the right person to lead us on the next stage of our evolution to become one of the UK’s leading integrated marketing and communications agencies.”
Mr Barr said: “I’ve now spent more than half of my career at Big and am hugely excited to take on the role of CEO.
“Clearly it is a challenging time, but marketing and communications services have never been more important for organisations.
“The current climate means businesses are going to have to work harder than ever to recover from the economic shock suffered as a result of the coronavirus. The encouraging thing from my perspective is that we are already working with our clients to prepare for that recovery.”
Big – which has operations in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Manchester – has also promoted associate directors Gayle Grant and Euan Blair, who work in the Granite City and Glasgow offices respectively, as full board directors.