Lisa De Bonis joins Accenture Interactive from Havas London
Advertising industry expert Lisa De Bonis has joined Accenture Interactive in London. De Bonis arrives at the rapidly growing digital design wing of Accenture from capital-based rival Havas, signalling the enhanced reputation of Accenture as a major disruptor in the sector.
Accenture has been making waves in the advertising world for almost two years now, following its acquisition of Karmarama in late 2016. Since then, the IT and management consultancy has been pursuing an aggressive campaign of targeted acquisitions. Most recently this saw this firm acquire Mackevision – the team behind the special effects for popular television series Game of Thrones –and Cannes Lions winning agency Rothco, marking Accenture’s 10th acquisition in marketing services of 2017.
Accenture’s substantial $1 billion war chest spent beefing up its Interactive wing last year quickly paid dividends. The firm, which is now estimated by some to be one of the largest advertising agencies in the world, has since drawn work from a succession of prestigious sources, including Disney, confectionary giant Hershey’s, and even the Vatican, who each tapped Accenture to help boost digital design modernisations.
Now, as the firm seeks to tighten the integration of its assorted properties in London, and improve its capacity to serve clients in the process, Accenture Interactive has pulled off another coup, in the appointment of a new Managing Director in its office in the UK capital city. Lisa De Bonis arrives at the firm having previously been the Executive Digital Director for Havas London, and will now specifically focus on strategic accounts and scaling for Accenture Interactive’s Creative Futures offering; a "brand experience accelerator", drawing on talent from the Accenture Interactive agency network.
De Bonis, was one of the founding partners of Work Club. According to a comment by De Bonis on careers site LinkedIn, “[We] launched one of most successful independent digital creative agencies of this generation against the tide of the world’s worst financial crisis. After 7 years of fun, fame and very hard work we were acquired by Havas.” Following the acquisition in 2014, she originally took the role of Digital Strategy Partner, before being promoted to Executive Digital Director & Partner in 2016.
In 2017, De Bonis’ expertise in the industry was recognised by Cannes Lions. The global event for those working in creative communications, advertising, and related fields appointed her a Juror for the seven day festival.
Joy Bhattacharya, head of Accenture Interactive UK and Ireland, said of the appointment, "Lisa joining Accenture Interactive is an exciting development and she will bring a wealth of expertise to an already strong management team in the UK and Ireland. Her rich experience of working across agencies and her entrepreneurial streak will strengthen Accenture Interactive in our mission to help clients create and deliver the best experiences for their customers."
De Bonis’ exit from Havas London is the latest in a succession of high profile captures from the design and advertising space. In August last year, rival consultancy firm Deloitte Digital – which has also been expanding rapidly in the UK – hired De Bonis’ former business partner Andy Sandoz, another Work Club co-founder and a former joint Executive Creative Director at Havas, to lead its creative services division.
