Integrated Ambition: Sam Lewis on DEPT's Growing Proposition

After nearly two decades navigating the shifting sands of advertising, former T&P US CEO Sam Lewis has been appointed to DEPT’s US leadership team as SVP Creative and Media.

He joins with a clear-eyed view of what modern agencies must become, and a restless energy to help build it. His remit? To lead the creative and media marketing business across the Americas, a portfolio that accounts for half of DEPT’s regional revenue. It’s a sign of DEPT's growing ambition that also offers signs about where the industry is heading.

Now in its tenth year, DEPT has built something rare: an agency designed from the ground up for integration, not retrofitted to suit it. With a 50/50 talent mix of marketers and engineers, the business is structured to deliver unified solutions with no silos, no bolt-ons, no legacy baggage. For Lewis, that blend isn’t just a staffing strategy; it’s a philosophy. It’s what drew him to join in the first place, alongside a client roster that includes Google, Snap, eBay, Moody’s, Coach, and many other brand heavyweights.

In conversation, Lewis is candid about the challenges facing clients today: more complexity, more partners, more pressure to move fast. Clients no longer want to stitch together fragmented services; they want joined-up thinking from the outset. That is why DEPT’s integrated model is underpinned by AI and built to scale. It’s not about replacing creativity with tech; it’s about fusing the two to deliver results that matter.

He brings not just experience, but a sense of optimism. From his early curiosity as the son of an entrepreneur to career highlights like London 2012, he’s seen the industry evolve, and still finds joy in its unpredictability. Now, as DEPT enters a new phase of growth, he’s helping shape the kind of agency clients seek: fast-moving, future-fit, and built for partnerships.

Lewis is not the only leadership recruit to join the 1,500-strong US operation - Angela Seits from PMG, Amy Ridley from R/GA, and Eric Druckenmiller join as VPs of strategy. Meanwhile, Greer Oliver also joins from R/GA to become VP client partner.

Now in place, the Americas leadership team are doubling down on their core belief: that truly integrated agencies outperform the rest.

Here Lewis talks about the agency’s ambition, why he has joined it, and explains why the best agencies are the ones that still surprise.

Why have you chosen to join DEPT and its US leadership team?

I've been an admirer of what DEPT has built for some time - they've designed something truly integrated from the ground up, with a 50/50 marketer-engineer talent mix that isn't just staffing strategy; it's fundamental to how they think and operate. My conversations with Carryn [Quibell, CEO of Americas] and the Americas leadership team revealed complete alignment on the need for modern agencies to be service-agnostic from the outset, to answer the questions clients are demanding today.

The client roster is frankly ridiculous: a mix of the biggest and most exciting brands across technology, professional services, CPG, you name it. And the scale feels perfect - big enough to handle any brief, yet still small enough to care. When you add their thoughtful approach to building integrated capabilities rather than just adding headcount, it becomes clear this was the right move at the right time.

What is your remit in leading the Creative and Media business in the Americas?

My role centres on overseeing a portfolio that represents 50 per cent of DEPT's Americas revenue. The remit includes leading growth and acquisition within our core creative and media offerings while expanding those client relationships into data, technology, and AI capabilities. It's about delivering what clients actually need: unified teams that can move at the speed of business without unnecessary baggage. Instead of bouncing between creative, media, and tech specialists, we're building integrated solutions from the outset, knowing how it'll perform across media and scale with technology.

What are the main goals of the leadership team you are joining?

Carryn, I, and the rest of the Americas team have one clear focus: proving that truly integrated agencies deliver superior results. We're building a business that delivers comprehensive solutions, driving tangible impact for our clients. The numbers back this up: 90 per cent of our new business is integrated across creative, media, data, and technology because that's what delivers.

Our goal is to capitalise on this massive shift in how brands want to work with agencies. We have the scale to handle global enterprises, but we're not weighed down by legacy structures that slow everything down. The leadership team is laser-focused on accelerating this advantage. We want to be the obvious choice for ambitious brands who need partners that can move fast, think holistically, and deliver results.

What is the outline of the current set-up in the US? How many staff members? And what are your aims for the future?

DEPT has a substantial US presence with a 1,500-person workforce that exemplifies our integrated model, split evenly between tech and marketing talent. This reflects our fundamental 50/50 approach, where engineers and marketers work as unified teams from day one.

The US operation is incredibly significant for the company, generating 50 per cent of our global revenue, which speaks to both the market opportunity and our strong position in this market. We're currently in a growth phase as we scale to meet growing demand for integrated services.

How/why did you get into advertising?

As the son of an entrepreneur, I inherited his restless curiosity for business across various sectors. It’s one of the reasons I chose advertising, to see first-hand how a variety of sectors operate, where else can you explore industries as varied as CPG to DTC, luxury to healthcare, automotive to legislative? The common denominator, of course, is moving humans. 

What role will AI play in helping the business achieve those goals?

AI isn't about replacing creativity - it's about building the right mix of creativity and tech expertise that helps our clients thrive now and in the future. Given the current disruption to our industry, every client is asking if they have the right lineup of marketing service partners, and our integrated approach to AI gives us a significant advantage.

We're not bolting AI onto existing processes; we're building it into the fabric of how our teams work together. When you have that 50/50 marketer-engineer talent mix thinking as one unit, AI becomes a natural extension of creative problem-solving rather than a separate capability. It enables our teams to move at the speed of business while delivering the kind of integrated solutions that ambitious brands like eBay and Snap demand.

Now in its tenth year, what helps DEPT stand out from the marketing services businesses already opening in the region?

The key differentiator is that DEPT was designed from the ground up as a future-fit agency, not retrofitted from legacy structures. We've maintained a thoughtful approach to building integrated capabilities that stay ahead of what clients need next. That fundamental 50/50 tech and marketing DNA means we're not just delivering creative and media strategies separately - we're delivering integrated solutions where every element works together from day one. The fact that we're attracting senior talent from across a number of agency partners in creative, media, and technology shows that industry leaders recognise this model represents the future.

Coming from T&P, do you see creative and media working more closely together again - is that something more clients are asking for?

Absolutely. For some time, marketing services have been converging back to integrated solutions rather than the forced fragmentation of the past. Fostering collaboration and building custom agency models to drive tangible success for clients has always been a key driver for me. Clients are demanding this now more than ever because their jobs have never been tougher! More disciplines to consider, more agency partners to assess, more technology to keep on top of. All the while needing to move at the speed of business.

Clients need more integrated solutions, from trusted partners that don’t have to be stitched together afterwards. They want unified thinking from the very beginning.

Given the current economic climate and industry disruption, every client is evaluating whether they have the right line-up of partners, and increasingly, they're choosing agencies that can deliver holistic solutions. The days of bouncing between creative, media, and tech specialists are coming to an end. Clients want teams that can tackle challenges together, with none of the unnecessary baggage that comes from siloed approaches.

How do you see the relationships between clients and their agency partners developing?

We’re optimistic that these key relationships are fundamentally shifting from vendor-client to true strategic partnership. Clients aren't just buying capabilities anymore - they're investing in partners who can help them navigate an increasingly complex landscape where creative, media, data, and technology all need to work seamlessly together. Modern agencies need to be service agnostic and able to answer the broader business questions that clients are grappling with today.

The most successful partnerships I've seen are built on shared accountability for business outcomes, not just campaign delivery. Clients want partners who understand their entire customer journey and can create truly connected experiences. At DEPT, our approach to building those 50/50 marketer-engineer teams means we're positioned as genuine strategic partners who can drive customer growth, not just execute against briefs.

After 20 years in advertising, what still surprises you about the ad industry?

Its variety. You can still wake up one day thinking you know what’s on the to-do list for that day, but that can all change in an instant. A single phone call, a fresh idea hits someone, a growth opportunity presents itself in culture. That freshness and variety keep us coming back.    

What has been your proudest career moment so far?

There are so many proud and happy memories so far, and hopefully many more to come. As we enter a few years of sporting event gold here in the US (FIFA World Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games, Rugby World Cup), one in particular comes to mind, the experience of working on the marketing services of the Olympic and Paralympic Games at London 2012 was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.