During her career, Lyall (pictured) has held several leadership positions including UK managing director roles at Mindshare and Freeda Media, and, most recently, UK and Emea chief executive at Brainlabs. She is also the co-founder of businesses including direct-to-consumer women’s health brand The Better Menopause.

At MSQ, she will play a key role in developing the company’s group offer, bringing together creative, media, data and technology and strengthening its proposition as a multi-disciplinary partner.

She will report to MSQ chief executive Peter Reid and sit on the group executive board.

The appointment is part of MSQ’s strategy to develop more integrated services from the businesses within its group, which includes recently acquired insight and strategy business The Forge.

Private equity business One Equity Partners acquired a majority stake in MSQ in 2023.

Peter Reid, chief executive, MSQ Partners, said: “Joanna’s appointment marks an important milestone as we continue to accelerate the growth and evolution of our integrated model. She brings exceptional experience in building progressive, high-performing agencies and a deep understanding of how to connect media and creativity in ways that drive meaningful results.

“She will be instrumental in helping us deepen the collaboration across our agencies and capabilities and deliver even greater impact for our clients.”