Lauren Payne-McLeod joins Fight or Flight North America as Head of Strategy and Creative

Previously based in the London office for three years, Lauren joins the expanding North America leadership team and will be based in New York.

Lauren’s appointment follows a bumper Q1 for Fight or Flight in North America. As well as being an Honorable Mention in the Boutique Agency of the Year category at the PR Week US Awards, the business has won multimarket, integrated North American briefs with creativity at their core. This includes Atera, the first AI-powered IT management platform.

As part of her new role, Lauren will be responsible for ensuring the delivery of high-caliber strategy and creative insights across the team’s account work, developing key client relationships, and driving new business growth.

A PR Week 30 Under 30 recipient, Lauren has been with FoF for three years after joining from Teneo. She has been the driving force behind many of the agency’s 17 award wins in the last 12 months and was the Creative Director on The Drum’s B2B Grand Prix-winning 50 Shades of Ginger campaign for Roland DG, which alone has picked up five major awards so far this season. She also leads major global accounts for FoF including Avalara and Frontify.

Lauren reports into North American Chair Tim Fry, and joins the North American leadership team, which includes Emma Hedges, EVP, US Operations and Client Service, and Dan Bird, SVP of Media and Innovation.

As Lauren says, “Fight or Flight was founded on the belief that B2B communications could be so much more than whitepapers that just make white noise. Thankfully, our clients agree. We are so proud of the campaigns we are delivering as a global agency, collaborating on briefs across markets to make work that packs a creative punch and delivers meaningful brand and commercial value. What the North American team has built in such a short time is nothing short of phenomenal, and I cannot wait to make the move Stateside to join them in-market at a hugely exciting time for the business.”

Tim also commented, saying “Lauren is a rare whole-package creative – a commercially-minded strategist who constantly pushes the creativity envelope to lead high-profile, impactful campaigns. Her sweet spot sits where our clients and the wider industry need the most help – creative B2B campaigns that leave a meaningful impact on the business. Lauren has led hugely successful global creative briefs, including award-winning work for Frontify and our recent Super Bowl campaign for Atera. We’re delighted to now have her on North American soil and can’t wait to see her lead our teams and clients to new heights.”

In 2023, Fight or Flight in North America doubled its client roster, tripled its team size and quadrupled its annual revenue. Interested in learning more? Drop us a message at hello@fightorflight.com.