United Kingdom

Lawrence Du Pre, United Kingdom

Lawrence.Du.Pre@wbaforum.org
Lawrence is assuming the role of Partner and CMO at IKAR Industries, a diversified Group bringing an entrepreneurial mindset, high-level networks and enormous operational experience across multiple sectors to the world of private equity and high finance.  
Prior to this Lawrence spent a 33-year advertising agency career spread across the 3 main communications Holding Companies (Omnicom, WPP, Interpublic), working at local office management and worldwide business director levels. Since 2018 he has been Managing Director of DDB Unlimited in Amsterdam. In this period, he was part of the management team designing a new, ‘built from scratch’ agency of the future structure focused on the marriage of data with creativity and moulding 3 units into a new entity. Apart from DDB network reporting and annual planning, his direct responsibilities included oversight of international clients including global and regional assignments on Mars, adidas, PMI, Honor, NEOM and Unilever, as well as responsibilities for developing New Business.
Previously he was an equity partner and Group CEO at DDB in Istanbul. One of the highlights of his stay in that city was DDB Istanbul’s status as the no 1 European Effie Index ranking agency in 2011, as well as leading the local Effies for over 10 years to 2017, with a personal tally of 18 Effies. Championing the importance of putting digital at the core of DDB’s capabilities and as part of a Group development agenda, he had led the acquisition and integration of a small web-build focused agency, re-branded Tribal. That agency ranked no. 4 in the Cannes 2020 European ‘Agency of the decade’ leader table. It also achieved an earlier top 3 ranking at the Cannes Festival, a first for any Turkish agency. The Group also achieved two agencies ranked in the local creative top 5.
He has also been jury President for Digital and Mobile at the Felis Awards and a Faculty Member at Bilgi University’s ‘Brand School’ running a Masters course in digital marketing and communications. A regular attendee of SXSW and angel investor forums, he was an always been fascinated by technology and business innovation and became a founding investor and marketing advisor for the MenaPay https://www.menapay.io/ blockchain start-up.
Prior to joining DDB he lived in Italy for 7 years, working for Lowe Worldwide as Global Category Director for Unilever’s ice cream business. While in Italy he also did independent consultancy and became a Founding Partner of one of the first virtual communication agency start-ups.
His career started as a fresh graduate entrant to JWT London, the UK’s largest agency of the time. Within 2.5 years he had become their youngest-ever account director quickly rising to the Associate Board.
He’s married to a successful artist and also enjoys exposure to that very different world.