Arena BLM founder Makin named Work Research chairman

He comes to Work three years after it was launched by former PHD Media executives Justin Gibbons and Dani Washer.

Gibbons said: “We’ve had three years of steady growth and work with some fantastic clients like Thinkbox, JC Decaux and Facebook. However, our ambition is to drive substantial growth and Charlie will be the ideal person to help us achieve this.”

Makin (pictured) was one of the founders of media agency Arena BLM in 1992, which sold to Havas in 2008. In August, Makin stepped back from day-to-day management of the business.

“I’m still involved with Arena BLM and will remain so,” he said. “This is an opportunity to spend some time helping build a business that has massive potential.”

According to Gibbons, work is already underway on a new mobile research product and an “integration insight tool” which the agency plans to launch in the next month.