Leo UK Strengthens Strategy and Social Offering with Standout Senior Hires

Nov. 24, 2025

Leo UK has announced four senior appointments across its planning and social teams, strengthening its strategic offer and continuing to grow its social expertise. 

Joining as Planning Partners, Scarlett Spence and Tom Patterson bring a rich track record in building some of the world’s most recognisable brands.

Spence moves from her role as Head of Strategy at BBC Creative, where she led flagship campaigns including the BBC’s Olympics coverage. Before that, she spent eight years at Mother London, helping deliver work for Ikea, Adidas and Amazon Prime Video. At Leo UK, she will bring a sharp brand-building lens to Vodafone.

Patterson joins from Lucky Generals, where he was Strategy Director on Virgin Atlantic, Co-op and Uswitch. Earlier in his career, he spent time at BBH and ITV, where he helped relaunch Tesco’s award-winning “Food Love Stories” and build ITV’s internal brand strategy team. At Leo UK, he will lead strategy on McDonald’s global business.

Appointed to the newly created role of Head of Social, Helen Simpson brings deep global social experience from The Beatport Group, where she unified social strategy across seven international music and tech brands. Her earlier agency work at We Are Social in both London and New York included campaigns for Netflix, Ralph Lauren, Apple TV+ and Paramount. She will be tasked with scaling Leo UK’s social offering and embedding social-first thinking across client work.

Joining as Head of Social Strategy, Nick McWilliams moves from We Are Social. Known for blending cultural insight with creative strategy, his recent work includes “No Preds, No Goals” for Adidas and Nike Milan’s “Stop at Nothing”. He will work closely with Simpson to shape the agency’s social strategy across clients.

The appointments mark the latest in a series of strategic moves by the agency to deepen its social expertise, building on momentum across a growing portfolio of integrated brand work. Over the past 12 months, Leo UK has significantly expanded its social capabilities, hiring senior specialists across planning, content and production, and increasing its investment in creator partnerships and platform-native creative.

Lilli English, CSO at Leo UK, said: 

"These hires reflect the kind of work we’re making - and the agency we’re shaping as we take Populist Creativity into its next chapter. Scarlett and Tom are standout brand thinkers with a track record of creating enduring, magnetic brands. Helen and Nick are sharp social minds who get how to ignite brands in talkable, culturally-charged spaces. I can’t wait to see what they make happen here."