Edward Mills

INTERIM MD

You built this. You just can’t run it and lead it at the same time.

I work with founders of independent creative and communications agencies who know that being in the business doesn’t create a successful business in the long term - yet don’t feel they can step away.

Start a conversation

01 / THE TRUTH

After 20 years leading, growing and fixing agencies, I know what the ceiling looks like from the inside.

Most founders have built something genuinely impressive. The ceiling they're hitting isn't a failure, it's what happens when a business outgrows the structure that got it there.

Referrals start to dry up, the senior team isn't quite firing and the proposition that clients loved three years ago has lost its magic. The magnesium spray isn't touching the 2am wake-ups and you don't have the time to address what you know you need to.

I come in as an interim MD - embedded, not advisory - to diagnose what's holding the business back, align the senior team around fixing it, and give you the space to lead rather than just manage. I don't produce a report and leave it to you. I stay until we get results and you have a blueprint to implement.

02 / WHAT I ADDRESS

Founder 0ver-reliance

With everything running through you it's impossible to add value where you need to.

Stalled senior teams

Incredible talent doesn't guarantee a successful team. Clarity, accountability and direction can help fire what you already have.

Poorly performing propositions

You do a great job on you clients but often overlook your own. Does yours answer current market need?

Referral only new business

It's tempting to feel like your reputation, your work and your contacts will always be enough but by the time they aren't it can be too late to address. A diverse ecosystem is needed to drive growth.

Fragmented AI strategies

If your AI strategy amounts to individual and unguided use of LLMs you're not alone. But that's not an excuse to leave it that way.

A culture that is costing you

Culture can still be seen as the soft metric that should come after commercial success. However, they are inextricably linked. Create a people-first culture, measure, listen and optimise.

03 / HOW IT WORKS

Direct, involved and designed to fit the stage your agency is in.

Diagnose

I spend the first weeks fully understanding the areas where we could be doing better and crucially, those that will drive the earliest return on investment.

Align

I work with your senior team just as closely as I do you. Agree on initial findings and approve the plan to be implemented.

Embed

Work in the agency, freeing up your time as a founder in the process and staying until we get results. Three to four days a week, in the building, working alongside the team - not sending emails from the outside.

Deliver

Leave behind a clearer rhythm and stronger internal capability.

The practical detail

Typically 14-16 days per month. Minimum three-month engagement. Mix of in-person and remote. Day/project rate on application.

04 / ABOUT EDWARD

A little more about the person you'll be working with.

A little more about the person you’ll be working with.

I've spent 20 years inside independent agencies - as a Client Services Director, as a Managing Director, and in almost every role in between. Most recently as MD of Hue & Cry, a 25-person integrated B Corp agency, where I led commercial recovery, restructured the leadership team, delivered a 130% new business ROI, identified and implemented a £200k complementary agency partnership and created a people first culture.

What I've learned from working alongside founders, not just for them, is that the ceiling most agencies hit isn't a talent problem or a market problem. It's a structure and clarity problem and it's almost always fixable.

I'm currently starting a preparatory masters year in Psychotherapy at Metanoia Institute, further developing the human side of what I do alongside the commercial.

05 / SELECTED CLIENT EXPERIENCE

HARLEY–DAVIDSON

THE GLENROTHES

ARLA

GLENDALOUGH DISTILLERY

BROWN–FORMAN

06 / TESTIMONIALS

“Eddie led some of our biggest pitch wins, with a natural flair for leading pitch teams and building client relationships that lasted long after the process ended. His ability to win business and then profitably embed it is a great asset - as a CEO, that’s exactly the kind of person you want trusted with running things.”

Jamie Matthews, CEO & Founder, Initials CX

“Eddie was the MD of the PR & creative agency we appointed to handle PR for YOTEL. Over the time we worked together he became someone I genuinely valued having in my corner. He's engaging from the first conversation and easy to talk to, but what stood out was the quality of counsel he gave as a senior contact - he asked the right questions, got to the heart of an issue quickly, and properly understood the challenges we were facing.

Whenever concerns came up, he acted on them fast, and he was always up for spitballing ideas to land on a better solution. That extended to his team and the agency's offering too - he was constantly sharpening what they did and who was doing it, so the service kept improving. He actively sought feedback and did something with it, and he was open and honest with us even when the conversation wasn't easy, which I valued a lot as a client.

That combination - strong counsel, a real focus on building a stronger team and offering, and an honest relationship built over time, is why I'd work with Eddie again without hesitation. Any company bringing him on board is getting someone who leads with substance as much as personality.”

Alys Mathew, SVP Brand & Digital Marketing, YOTEL - 2024-2026

Jamie Matthews, CEO & Founder, Initials CX

“Eddie was the MD of the PR & creative agency we appointed to handle PR for YOTEL. Over the time we worked together he became someone I genuinely valued having in my corner. He’s engaging from the first conversation and easy to talk to, but what stood out was the quality of counsel he gave as a senior contact - he asked the right questions, got to the heart of an issue quickly, and properly understood the challenges we were facing.

Whenever concerns came up, he acted on them fast, and he was always up for spitballing ideas to land on a better solution. That extended to his team and the agency’s offering too - he was constantly sharpening what they did and who was doing it, so the service kept improving. He actively sought feedback and did something with it, and he was open and honest with us even when the conversation wasn’t easy, which I valued a lot as a client.

That combination - strong counsel, a real focus on building a stronger team and offering, and an honest relationship built over time, is why I’d work with Eddie again without hesitation. Any company bringing him on board is getting someone who leads with substance as much as personality.”

Alys Mathew, SVP Brand & Digital Marketing, YOTEL - 2024-2026

07 / CONTACT

If you’re ready to create the space needed to drive your next stage of growth, let’s chat.

I offer 30-minute discovery calls. In place of a fee, I ask for a £100 donation to the Oli Mills Foundation - which raises funds for Teenage Cancer Trust. It keeps the conversation serious, and it matters to me personally.

If that resonates, get in touch.

millseddie07@gmail.com

Edward Mills

Interim MD for independent agencies