AKQA on Its Post-Olympics Plans

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By the end of the year, the firm expects to top 800 staffers, an increase of 100 just this year. It is also on the hunt for acquisitions, particularly in the media and analytics space, while still eyeing a future public offering.

To keep pace with its growth, the shop is filling out its management ranks. AKQA also shifted its chief financial officer, Tim Pierce, to the role of chief operating officer. He has moved from AKQA's San Francisco headquarters to London. To replace him, AKQA has tapped 25-year Grey Group veteran Lester Feintuck to take his place in San Francisco. Bedecarre notes that Feintuck, who served as CFO for Grey Group, has experience as a chief financial officer when Grey was an independent publicly traded company.

When General Atlantic bought a majority stake in AKQA from Francisco Partners in February 2007, AKQA indicated it would be looking for acquisitions to fill out its services. The only key deal was Searchrev, a small search technology team that brought AKQA bid-management software and the nucleus of a team that formed a search unit. Since then, AKQA has failed to close any deals. It was reportedly interested in U.K. digital media shop i-Level.

Search, media and analytics remain high on AKQA's list. Its bet is to build a digital media operation that combines creativity with expertise in managing bid-based buying systems. In that way, AKQA has tried to carve out a niche in innovative media programs, such as the Visa small-business program launched on Facebook earlier this summer. It gives $100 Facebook ad credits to small businesses that download the Visa application.