• by Larissa Faw , August 26, 2015

Social media agency We Are Social has nabbed Big Fuel President Rob FitzGerald to lead its U.S. operations. FitzGerald will oversee a team of more than 50, working with clients including National Geographic, Heineken, Boots USA, Banana Republic, Hyatt and Giorgio Armani. His key priorities will be landing additional U.S. clients and continuing the agency's global expansion. He will be based in NYC and report to Robin Grant, global managing director.  

According to Grant, FitzGerald is "a highly respected business leader with an impressive combination of US and global experience, and is the perfect fit to lead We Are Social as it moves to the next stage in its growth and evolution in the U.S."  FitzGerald will also be a member of the agency’s global leadership team, Grant added.   

Six months ago FitzGerald was promoted to president at Big Fuel. He originally joined the Publicis-owned shop in early 2013 as managing director. He has also spent time at GlobalHue, Initiative and Omnicom Media Group.

Meanwhile, Leila Thabet, We Are Social’s managing director in the U.S., will be leaving the agency. She was one of the agency's earliest employees at its London headquarters, and launched the U.S. business in 2012.  

In light of FitzGerald's departure, Big Fuel is currently being led by Mandy Gersh, head of client services, and Jon Resnik, CCO, until an official replacement is named.