• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, June 2, 2017

New York-based agency Decoded Advertising has named James Stephens a partner and managing director. 

Stephens, the former group brand director at MDC Partners' 72andSunny, will be based in Los Angeles and is tasked with getting the agency’s new office there up and running. The shop already has a number of big brand clients in the region, including HP, Visa and Hurley. 

Stephens will also head client services in both New York and Los Angeles with a remit to drive growth. 

The hire reunites Stephens and Decoded CEO Matt Rednor, who worked together earlier in their careers at BBDO. “We’ve been trying to figure out a way to work together again,” said Rednor. “James has been a part of shaping some of the most creative brands in the world and will help elevate the work we’re doing here even more.” 

At 72andSunny LA, Stephens led the adidas, ESPN, Instagram and Coors accounts. In previous roles, he also led global agency teams on Beats by Dre, Budweiser, Sprite and Gillette at R/GA, Anomaly, BBH and BBDO.

Added Stephens: “Throughout my career, my goal has been to build teams whose work reflects and influences culture at its best and most diverse. The collection of talent that Decoded is assembling combined with its more informed creative process — learning through iterative creative and constant optimization to audience feedback — gives me the best chance to do that.”

Rednor, the former MRY Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, founded Decoded in 2015. It also counts GE and Amazon among its clients and it has an office in London.