Great State Bolsters Leadership Team with Joint MD Promotions

Great State has unveiled a new leadership team to usher the agency into a new era.

Jinny Mitchell-Kent and David Chandler have both been promoted to the role of joint managing director (MD). The duo replaces, but will report to, Stuart Avery who is stepping back into his position as non-executive chairman.

Jinny and David will be the driving force behind a new era of Great State. By delivering the transformation capability of an enterprise consultancy and tech partner, with the creativity of an agency Great State will help close the digital expectation gap between brands and their customers.

As an experienced leader with a razor-sharp focus on agency operations, Jinny steps into the post from her previous position as chief operating officer.

She joined Great State over four years ago from tech-enabled ideas and innovation company AKQA where, as Executive Delivery Director, Jinny was responsible for high-profile clients such as Rolls-Royce, Dyson, Apple, Tag and Barclays.

Jinny Mitchell-Kent and David Chandler are joint MD’s at Great State

David has been promoted from his former role as Division Director where he has grown their Defence offering. As a strategic partner, David has gained an unrivalled reputation for ensuring Great State’s clients experience exceptional service and a great return on investment.

He joined the agency almost four years ago from Harte Hanks where he held the position of SVP Client Service and worked across several household brands including Samsung, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and BMW.

Stuart Avery, non-executive Chairman at Great State said: “Jinny and David have been an integral part of the agency’s significant growth journey over the past two years. They’ve helped to elevate the agency known as a leading digital product and service agency, to one famed for its digital customer experience work with the likes of the Royal Navy, Capita, Honda, and the University of York. Which has been key in helping the agency win multiple high-profile awards such as BIMA Gold and the Grand Prix at the Digital Impact awards.

“I look forward to seeing the Jinny-David duo propel the agency, our people, and our clients further into this new era of growth. They are both extremely impressive individuals but together they are a phenomenal team and a force to be reckoned with.

“Their complementary skill sets in agency operations and building strong client relationships, along with their relentless focus on quality provide Great State with something that is both industry differentiating and powerful.”

David Chandler explained: “Jinny is a natural leader who engenders trust from both clients and internal teams alike. She has exceptionally high standards, is always focused on driving the quality of our output, and ultimately ensures we deliver great value to our clients.

“Customers are continually underwhelmed by digital experiences that just don’t meet their expectations – we believe they can and should be better. The pace of change means that expectations move on extremely quickly, brands need an agency that can stay one step ahead ensuring that they deliver compelling and engaging experiences that deliver results for our clients. That’s what we do here at Great State – by working as a team and tapping into our core strengths.

Customers are continually underwhelmed by digital experiences that just don’t meet their expectations – we believe they can and should be better
David Chandler

“Jinny and I come at things from a slightly different perspective based on our professional backgrounds, but we have developed a unique talent for being able to bounce ideas off each other and see things from each other’s perspective. Not only does this benefit our agency and people, but it will also help drive growth for our current and future clients. I can’t think of a better partner to be taking this journey with.”

Jinny Mitchell-Kent added: “David is a people-first and collaborative leader who understands the importance of being close to his clients’ work and engages with them at a strategic level. He pushes clients outside of their comfort zone, championing excellent work and driving innovation and quality.

“There’s real power in being a team of two combining skill sets and perspectives to make even stronger decisions to help drive growth for clients and the agency. We both have a relentless desire for new, innovative, different, better, and beautiful. Added to this is a strong focus on combining working models that blend client/agency teams with the use of AI in both our internal delivery and client solutions.

“I’m thrilled to take on the opportunity of working in partnership with him to lead Great State into our next era, helping to deliver more personalised end-experiences for our clients that have a positive impact on their customers.”

Jinny and David will be supported by a senior leadership team which includes recent hires Matt Powell as creative director, Andy Ingle, head of UX and Coris Leachman, head of new business.

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