Pioneering digital creative agency R/GA announced today its return to independence as a privately owned company after 23 years as part of IPG.  

The move is facilitated by a new partnership between R/GA’s global management and private equity firm Truelink Capital.  

R/GA’s Global CEO Robin Forbes and Chair & Global Chief Creative Officer Tiffany Rolfe will remain two of the global leaders (along with others) who are investing in the company as part of the deal.  

The agency said its next chapter will be fueled by a $50 million innovation fund enabling the company to invest in new skillsets and talent, and acquire new capabilities, emerging tools and platforms.  

Also R/GA has established a Strategic Advisory Council of senior marketing and technology executives to support emerging AI transformation opportunities for clients across multiple sectors. 

As an independent company, R/GA is activating an AI-enabled model to better serve clients, “unburdened by the restrictions and overheads of traditional corporate structures,” the agnecy stated.  

As part of IPG, the agency, along with sibling digital shop Huge struggled to grow in recent years and IPG consistently called both shops out on quarterly earnings calls as a drag on earnings. IPG, which struck its own to be acquired by Omnicom in December, put both R/GA and Huge up for sale last year. 

In December, Interpublic announced that it sold Huge to private investment firm AEA Investors and that the agency was being merged with another AEA unit Hero Digital.  

Last summer IPG reportedly had discussions with India’s Tata Consulting Services about acquiring R/GA, but those talks ended without completing a deal. 

Today’s R/GA announcement indicated that new compensation models based on outcomes, new team structures, and scaling up its flexible talent model ‘R/GA Associates’ are among initial changes being implemented. 

“Today is a landmark moment for R/GA, as we enter an exciting new chapter as a private company supported by our new partners at Truelink Capital,” stated Forbes.    

“At R/GA change is a feature, not a bug, and we believe in the power of brands to transform - which is what we do for clients, and now we’re doing it for ourselves,” added Rolfe. “The dominant industry narrative around AI has focused largely on efficiency gains in the traditional marketing approach, which is only part of the equation. We are leaning into the creative potential to help brands differentiate themselves and exceed rising customer expectations through new kinds of intelligent experiences that haven’t been possible before.”   

“We see the growth of AI enabled experiences playing an increasingly important role in unlocking value in marketing services,” said Luke Myers, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Truelink Capital. “R/GA is both designed and perfectly positioned to help seize that new opportunity for clients. Which is why we’re so excited to back R/GA’s global leadership team through our strategic investment.”   

R/GA was formed in 1977 by brothers Robert and Richard Greenberg. IPG acquired the firm in 2002.