About us

Michael joined VCCP on its first day of business in 2002, becoming Managing Director in 2006 and CEO in 2012. In recent years VCCP has built itself a reputation for business transformation as evidenced by the likes of O2, comparethemarket.com, Macmillan, Nationwide and easyJet.

VCCP has also been the UK’s Agency of the Year four times in addition to topping the AAR’s New Business league for the last 7 years running. The proudest part of Michael’s career is being part of the team that has built VCCP from nothing to a 900 strong agency in 7 markets.

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. 

Maggie qualified at KPMG whilst working on advertising clients. She left KPMG to join a privately owned agency called Clark & Taylor Plc as its Finance Director where she stayed for eight years until the agency was sold to AMV/BBDO. Following that, Maggie joined Chime as Finance Director of its advertising and marketing services division, AMS. She then moved to VCCP in 2006 as joint Finance Director when the company had 200 employees.

In July 2012 Maggie became Group CFO and now oversees all things Financial, HR, Legal, Facilities and IT as well as overseeing the finances of VCCP’s International offices.

Maggie is a Fellow of the IPA and is Honorary Treasurer of the IPA. She spends any spare time playing Candy Crush much to the disgust of her 6 year old daughter!

Michael joined VCCP in 2003 as its 26th employee after a varied previous life working in the music industry and for The Football Association. He was lead strategist for some of VCCP’s most famous award-winning government advertising for the Department of Health (Sexual Health) and Home Office (anti-binge drinking), and carved an outstanding new business record including pitch wins for Hiscox Insurance, Hyundai and easyJet. He was appointed Head of Planning in 2008 and helped VCCP secure its first ever Agency of the Year title in 2009, for Marketing magazine.

In October 2012, after a brief stint at AMV BBDO, he was lured back to VCCP as our Executive Planning Director, with strategic responsibility across the entire VCCP Partnership. Michael works across a number of accounts including Canon, TfL and easyJet, playing a key role in easyJet’s commercial transformation which led to the Marketing Society awarding easyJet a record 5 prizes including Brand of the Year and Long-Term Marketing Excellence.

He has a degree in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University.

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.

Stephanie started her career in headhunting, before moving into the Marketing and PR industry in 2003, specialising in the travel and lifestyle sector for six year. In 2010 Steph raced to the North Pole, becoming the fastest woman to have ever done so whilst raising £50,000 for Mencap. It was on this trip that she met Michael Sugden, CEO, VCCP Partnership and Andrew Peake, CEO, VCCP London. 

Steph joined VCCP in late 2010 as Marketing and New Business director. VCCP was Marketing magazine’s Agency of the Year in 2011 and topped the industry’s most in-demand agency rankings for seven years. Steph now sits on the VCCP Partnership management team as Group Chief Marketing Officer and is Group MD of it’s parent company Chime. She also sits on numerous boards including PR firm Good Relations, the sports marketing agency CSM and The Marketing Society.

Peter graduated with an MBA in his native Vienna and has worked ever since in the communications industry, mostly on the agency side.

He is a true cosmopolite who has lived and worked in Vienna, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Paris and London where he managed numerous global and pan-European brands.

Not least because of his background, he has a great knowledge of what it takes to succeed as a brand when crossing borders and transcending cultures while being relevant to local markets.

Peter joined VCCP in 2004 and is responsible for the international business of the agency.

Julian Douglas, or Dougie as he is better known, is the Vice Chairman of the VCCP Partnership. He joined the agency in 2008, having previously worked at WCRS, BBH, TBWA, and Grey London twice. With over 20 years experience, he has created some of the world’s most successful campaigns, both in the UK and internationally, for brands including Audi, Lynx, O2 Telefonica, Domino’s, Nationwide and Shell.

He holds a BA and MA from Jesus College, Oxford, an MBA from Warwick Business School and is a Fellow and Council Member of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. As the Chair of the IPA’s Talent Leadership Group, he originated Advertising Unlocked, the annual joint industry open-day welcoming thousands of young people into the industry from right across the UK.

Outside of advertising, he is a Founder of Lucky Voice, the UK’s premier chain of karaoke bars and online karaoke. His latest venture is Parent Pool, a social enterprise on a mission to transform the childcare market through collaborative parenting.

Dougie was awarded 2018 Account Person of the Year by Campaign Magazine.