Our Vision

Michael joined VCCP on its first day of business in 2002, becoming VCCP Managing Director in 2006, VCCP CEO in 2012 and VCCP Group CEO 2024.

During his time at VCCP Michael has been privileged to work with many of our client partners including O2, Virgin Media, Google, Telefonica, Sage, T-Mobile, Microsoft, Formula E, Coca-Cola and Macmillan among others. The proudest part of his career is being part of the team that built the VCCP Group from an idea to a 1,500-strong agency in eight offices around the world.

Michael has deep experience in the tech and telco sectors in addition to establishing and growing VCCP’s digital specialisms. Michael is also founder and CEO of faith, the VCCP Group’s AI capability. In addition Michael is a Director for the charity Health Improvement Project Zanzibar.

Outside of work and family Michael has raced motorbikes across the Sahara, trekked to the magnetic North Pole and led expeditions across the Himalaya, Andes and Tanami desert.

Darren started his career at WCRS creating award-winning work for Speedo, funny work for Butterkist, and launched Sega Dreamcast across Europe. He then moved to DDB London. But not for long. Next was a seven-year stint at Mother. Pimm’s, ITV Digital, PG Tips, Schweppes, Magic FM and Yellow Pages were all hits.
 
In 2008 Darren moved to be the creative lead of VCCP with the desire to create more famous and much loved advertising that populated culture.
 
VCCP’s comparethemarket.com launched in 2009 and is still the nation’s favourite campaign. He encouraged everyone to ‘be more dog’ for O2. Nationwide Building Society lets the nation speak about the issues that matter most with our ‘Spoken word’ work. And more recently he’s put Cadbury back in the nations hearts with ‘there’s a glass & a half in everyone’. The Cadbury work is rolling out around the world to great effect. 

Michael Lee has been Chief Strategy Officer of the VCCP Partnership since 2013. He has played a major role in the dramatic growth of the agency to become the UK’s Number 1 agency, with an exceptional roster of clients including Cadbury, O2, compare the market, Walkers, Canon and easyJet. In January 2023, he was ranked the UK ad industry’s No.1 Strategist by the trade publication Campaign.

He has won numerous creative and effectiveness awards including the European Effie Grand Prix, and the Marketing Society’s Long Term Effectiveness Award for his work on transforming the commercial fortunes of easyJet. He now oversees a team of over 70 strategists across 8 offices worldwide, with a diverse range of skillsets ranging from brand strategy to data analytics and performance marketing.

In 2021, Michael set up VCCP Stoke Academy as one of the co-Founders, a commitment to increasing awareness, create work experience opportunities and jobs in the creative industry in a part of the country where few opportunities exist for talented, creatively-minded young adults struggle to break into our industry.

He has spoken at numerous events including Cannes Lions, Contagious and MAD/fest on a wide range of subjects from innovation in the field of emotional response research to fostering a challenger culture through strong brand positioning. Michael is also an advisor for the BAME2020 initiative, and a guest lecturer for the Cambridge University Judge Business School.

He is currently Chair of the APG, the organization that represents strategists and planners across the marketing industry and runs the prestigious APG Creative Strategy Awards. His mission is to increase the social diversity of entry level planners and also broaden the APG’s membership to include the diversifying career paths of strategists into client, tech and PR businesses.

David started out in advertising at Young and Rubicam, working on accounts such as Heinz Baked Beans, British Gas, Smirnoff, Royal Navy & Royal Marines Recruitment and Legal and General. After seven years he went to McCann-Erickson where he became a Managing Partner of the London office for nine years and won and ran clients such as Esso, Bacardi, Coca-Cola and the Irish Tourist Board, as well as working on Nestle, CGU and Bacardi.

He then joined Lowe worldwide for five years, where he was the Global Business Director on Nokia and Electrolux before joining VCCP, where he is the Group Managing Director. He is married and has three teenage children.

David went to the University of Durham where he studied Greek & Roman Civilisation, Russian Studies and Anthropology.

Jo has over 25 years’ experience in the industry, working both client side, as well as co-founding an agency which was acquired by the Group, which is when she joined the team. Since then, she has built and led a division of six specialist award-winning agencies as Group CEO of VCCP Business, covering B2B marketing and PR in high growth sectors, spanning nine different international locations from San Francisco, London, Singapore to Sydney. She still works and advises clients both in the UK and internationally.

She has recently become VCCP’s Group COO, leading the transformation of operations as the Group continues to grow internationally as the challenger network. She passionately believes that values drive value and is leading the group’s sustainability strategy. She is a trustee of The Climate Group and on the Women in Business Group for the DofE as well as a member of WACL.

Raj Dadra is the Group CFO. He joined VCCP in 2018 having previously worked at GCI, Cohn & Wolfe, Fleishman Hillard, G2, Geometry Global and Ogilvy. With over twenty years’ experience he has worked in UK, Regional and Global finance roles in addition to being the client finance lead for one of WPP’s biggest clients. Raj is the Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee for the British Science Association, the BSA is a charity, founded in 1831 and incorporated by Royal Charter. The mission of the BSA is to transform the diversity and inclusivity of science; to reach under-served audiences; and increase the number of people who are actively engaged and involved in science.