Creative communications agency The Folk Group has strengthened its senior leadership team with the appointment of Andrew Bloch as board adviser and Amanda Bunn as commercial and operations director, supporting the agency’s next phase of growth.
Bloch will support Folk with its growth plans, including the development of new service offerings for a communications landscape increasingly shaped by AI.
Bloch co-founded and was managing partner of Frank PR for 20 years, before launching his own consultancy, Andrew Bloch & Associates, where he advises companies across the marketing services space on growth strategies and M&A.
Bunn, who was previously managing director at two of Wales’ largest marketing and communications agencies, has joined Folk’s leadership team in a newly-created role to lead operations and strengthen commercial performance as the agency continues to attract new clients.
She will be responsible for optimising agency operations, ensuring efficient delivery of client work and putting in place structures and processes for Folk to scale.
CEO Sharon Flaherty said the appointments mark an important milestone for the agency:
“We’ve always had ambitious plans for Folk, but we knew that in order to deliver on them we needed to strengthen both our advisory and operational leadership so we’re properly geared for growth.
“Amanda has worked with us on a consultancy basis and has been instrumental to our success during that time. She brings nearly three decades of managerial and operational experience, having led other businesses through periods of growth and change, and we’re thrilled she’s joining Folk permanently.
“Andrew is renowned in the industry for helping ambitious agencies challenge the traditional way of doing things and achieve sustainable growth. Bringing him on board is an important step in increasing awareness of the unique capabilities The Folk Group can offer brands.”
Andrew Bloch added:
“When I first started learning about The Folk Group, I was fascinated by its Real Folk Panel and how as an agency they are combining human insight, cultural understanding, ethics and creativity with AI-powered speed, insight and scale.
“As agencies and brands double down on AI, The Folk Group is harnessing the best of what the technology brings while staying grounded in the thing brands can’t afford to ignore: people. AI can summarise culture, but it can’t replicate real life experience. The team at The Folk Group has built something genuinely different, and I’m excited to support the agency on its growth journey.”
New commercial and operations director Amanda Bunn added:
“The Folk Group is an ambitious agency that prides itself on delivering quality work for national household brands and the team’s culture and values are so closely aligned to my own that it’s felt like home for some time now.”
The agency’s client roster includes Nationwide Building Society, the NHS, Eurostar, Admiral, Macmillan Cancer Support, Atradius, MyHealthChecked and more.
