The Lad Bible has appointed PR group Weber Shandwick’s European digital chief to a top role, as the digital upstart prepares for its first trip to the Cannes Lions global ad event next week.
The youth media company, which has launched a range of spin-offs including Sport Bible and female-targeted Pretty52, has appointed Adam Clyne, head of Weber Shandwick’s digital and social content operations across Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Clyne, who will take the newly created role of chief operating officer at the Lad Bible, has good connections – Facebook’s Nicola Mendelsohn, its vice-president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, is his sister.
He has been tasked with day-to-day running of the company and driving its strategic growth.
“Adam brings a breadth of operational and digital experience that will help take the Lad Bible Group to the next stage of our evolution,” said Solly Solomou, chief executive and co-founder. “He will help us build on a period of strong growth.”
Clyne is one of a four-strong contingent of the company’s top executives, including Solomou, co-founder Arian Kalantari and marketing chief Mimi Turner, making the Lad Bible’s first official visit to the world’s pre-eminent advertising festival in Cannes next week.
Cannes has proven to be fertile ground for a new wave of digital businesses looking to connect with advertisers – agencies, Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat have all become Cannes regulars.
It has also proved something of a match-maker for potential investors; late last year the Lad Bible was considering selling a minority stake to raise as much as £25m for expansion.
The Lad Bible has self-funded its growth from about 30 staff to more than 100 in the past 18 months, but serious expansion is likely to need a cash injection from an investor.
“We have an opportunity to hugely scale this business across categories and borders,” said Clyne. “I am looking forward to being part of the team that makes this happen.”
