Advertising veteran Kelly joins Start Creative

Jim Kelly, a founder of RKCR/Y&R, has been appointed as non-executive director of design agency, Start Creative. He will be responsible for its “strategic direction”.

Jim Kelly, a founder of RKCR/Y&R, has been appointed as non-executive director of design agency, Start Creative. He will be responsible for its “strategic direction”.

Kelly will also be involved in the agency’s business development and client management. Its clients include Adidas, Virgin Atlantic and Alliance & Leicester.

It is Kelly’s first role since the collapse of United London, previously HHCL/Red Cell, in April this year. He joined the agency as joint managing partner with Robert Campbell, another RKCR partner, at the start of 2006. It was closed after a series of accounts losses, including the £75m BSkyB business, and failed merger talks with sister WPP Group agency, Grey (MW April 5, 2007).

Kelly’s advertising career spans over 30 years and also includes spells at Saatchi & Saatchi and Gold Greenlees Trott advertising.

He was chief executive of RKCR/Y&R until 2005 and has also worked as a consultant to Virgin Atlantic.