Already Bulked Up, R/GA Still Has Jobs to Fill

At a time when it seems the agency world is still shrinking, R/GA is on a hiring binge.
 
The Interpublic Group shop has added 176 staffers since the start of the year, according to CEO Bob Greenberg (pictured), and it still has 230 open jobs. The hiring cuts across all disciplines, including a recent surge in the social and emerging media ranks.
 
R/GA is plotting a geographical expansion too, recently getting the green light from IPG to extend the brand into Chicago, where Greenberg expects to soon have a 20-person office under the leadership of Sean McCarthy. R/GA handles its S.C. Johnson and Dow accounts from there.
 
“Our challenge is finding people to staff the work we have and getting them all integrated the right way,” Greenberg said. “It indicates the success of having the right digital capabilities at this point in time.”
 
R/GA currently has 765 staffers.
 
The expansion comes after R/GA won several large accounts last year, including lead digital duties for MasterCard and Walmart. The agency put a halt to new business activities earlier this year, according to Greenberg.
 
Its London and San Francisco offices are both over 60 people now, he said. Current international expansion plans include Buenos Aires, Sao Paolo and Singapore. It is also taking more space across the street from its New York headquarters, he said.