R/GA named Sean Lyons its U.S. president after parting ways with former prez Seth Solomons last month. Lyons will start the new role this autumn, reporting directly directly to founder, CEO and Darth Vader fanboy Bob Greenberg.
Lyons arrives at R/GA from Havas Worldwide, where he currently serves as global chief digital officer and co-managing partner of the agency’s New York office, along with global CMO Matt Weiss and chief strategy officer Tim Maleeny. Weiss and Maleeny will continue to run the New York office following his departure.
Lyons originally joined R/GA as an executive technical director back in April 0f 2005, working his way up to group director and then managing director before leaving for Havas in the spring of 2013. During his first tenure with the agency, Lyons led the Nike account as managing director, managing internal and production teams across the agency’s New York, San Francisco and London offices. Before joining R/GA, Lyons founded consultancy CLR Media, where he worked with clients including WPP PR firm Burson-Marsteller and Barneys New York. That followed over three years with Silicon Valley agency Oven Digital as director of rich media, working on web development for clients including Tiffany & Co. and IBM.
“Sean helped drive innovation in our business and our work through his strong leadership and an ability to foster unified teams,” Havas Global CEO Andrew Bennett told Adweek. “We are grateful for his contribution over the past two years and extend our good wishes on his next venture.”