Appointments of Darren Savage and Martín Bordoy bring deep strategic pedigree to unite strategy, creativity, and AI across key European hubs

LONDON and MADRID, Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Monks, the global, digital-first, data-driven, unitary operating brand of S4 Capital plc, today announced a significant expansion of its EMEA practice.

Bolstering its leadership to support enterprise clients in building Real-Time Brands, the company has appointed Darren Savage as Group Strategy Director and Martín Bordoy as Strategy Director. Their arrival marks a key investment in Monks’ upstream strategy capabilities, uniting sharp brand positioning, cultural insight, and creative direction to direct high-velocity AI workflows toward authentic consumer connection.

Integrating Strategy, Creativity, and Technology for Real-Time Brands

The addition of Savage and Bordoy brings the strategic firepower necessary to tackle complex enterprise opportunities at speed. Real-Time Brands adapt immediately to cultural shifts and consumer behaviors, requiring a high level of insight and resonant strategy to drive tangible business impact. Monks grounds every client engagement in this foundation, utilizing its proprietary AI orchestration platform, Monks.Flow, as the operational engine to execute these multi-dimensional strategies at scale. Both Savage and Bordoy’s deep cultural expertise ensures this technology actively serves human creativity and connection, elevating automation far beyond a standalone efficiency tool.

“In an always-on digital ecosystem, modern brands demand strategic conviction, cultural relevance, and human taste at the very start of the process,” said Alex Oberberg, Chief Revenue Officer, EMEA. “Leaders like Darren and Martín ensure our client relationships begin with category-defining strategy and creative vision. Our technology then provides the operational engine to bring that vision to life at scale, without defaulting to generic, automated output.”

Proven Strategic Talent

Both leaders bring decades of experience in brand strategy, consumer insight, and business transformation across global markets:

• Darren Savage (Group Strategy Director): Savage brings 30 years of experience shaping brand, product, and innovation strategy, having built and led operations across London and New York. His portfolio spans work for tier-one global brands, including Nike, Apple, Audi, Volkswagen, PlayStation, and the BBC. A decorated strategist whose work has earned a Cannes Grand Prix, a D&AD Black Pencil, and a Webby Grand Prix, Savage also serves as an educator at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School and a Teaching Fellow at the University of Lancaster.
• Martín Bordoy (Strategy Director): Bordoy joins with 17 years of cross-market brand positioning and cultural insight experience across Europe and Latin America. Following an extensive tenure at global strategy boutique BMC (Business Meets Culture) alongside roles at leading agency networks, he guides brand architecture and growth strategies for global powerhouses. His past clients include The Coca-Cola Company, Heineken, Bacardi, Unilever, Google, and Toyota. He specializes in translating cultural shifts into actionable business growth.

Driving Regional Impact and Cross-Border Alignment

Working as part of Monks’ unified EMEA network, Savage and Bordoy will help scale strategic frameworks across key European hubs. By bridging brand positioning, media strategy, and tech orchestration under one roof, Monks continues to elevate how enterprise clients build long-term brand equity and connect with audiences in real time.

About Monks

Monks is the global, digital-first, data-driven, unitary operating brand of S4 Capital plc. Monks combines a global range of marketing and technology services to redefine how brands interact with the world. Through Monks.Flow, its AI platform for marketing orchestration, Monks transforms marketing into a growth engine, collapsing timelines and connecting brands to culture in real time. Monks was named a Contender in The Forrester Wave™: Global Marketing Services, ranks among Cannes Lions’ Top 10 Creative Companies (2022-24), and is the only partner featured in AdExchanger’s Programmatic Power Players list every year (2020-24). Named Adweek’s first AI Agency of the Year (2023) and The One Show’s inaugural AI Pioneer Organization, Monks was also awarded Business Intelligence Group’s 2025 Excellence in Artificial Intelligence Award in both the Organizational and AI Product categories.

About S4 Capital

S4 Capital is a purely digital advertising and marketing services business built for global, multinational, regional, and local clients and millennial-driven influencer brands. The business operates through two data and digital media driven Practices: Marketing Services and Technology Services, emphasising ‘faster, better and more efficient’ execution in an always-on consumer-led environment. Its unitary structure positions the Company as a systems integration partner delivering real-time relevance in the post-agency era.

The Company now has approximately 6,200 people in 34 countries with approximately 82% of net revenue across the Americas, 12% across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 6% across Asia-Pacific. The longer-term objective is a geographic split of 60%:20%:20%. Marketing Services accounted for approximately 91% of net revenue and Technology Services 9%. The target allocation is a practice split of 75%:25%.

Sir Martín Sorrell was CEO of WPP for 33 years, building it from a £1 million ‘shell’ company in 1985 into the world’s largest advertising and marketing services company, with a market capitalisation of over £16 billion on the day he left. Prior to that, Sir Martín was Group Financial Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Company Plc for nine years.

Media Contact

Evelyn Hsu
evelyn.hsu@monks.com

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SOURCE Monks