Samantha Coon was previously head of consumer PR at Sainsbury’s and Argos for two-and-a-half years, following on from a two-year stint as Sainsbury's head of PR, lifestyle.
Her appointment is part of a Spider restructure in which the firm is recruiting specialist skills that can bring an additional commercial perspective to client briefs.
Spider has grown its fee income and headcount despite the COVID-19 crisis, and added new food and drink clients such as Peperami, Itsu, Bord Bia, British Apples & Pears, Jack Links, Merchant Gourmet, Fox’s Biscuits and The Mushroom Bureau.
“We have been seeking someone with Samantha’s breadth of experience for some time,” Spider founder and chief executive Sara Pearson said.
“In her we have valuable client-side experience coupled with her understanding of the agency world through earlier, senior roles in leading PR agencies.
“This culminates an extraordinary 2020 for Spider, when we have been able to keep and grow our teams to match the new business opportunities which have emerged even in the darkest times. We see this as a gateway year when everything has been re-thought and we are going into 2021 with expectation and excitement.”
Last year, Spider appointed Michelle Butler as chief operating officer. She joined from the Irish Government’s food and drink bureau, Bord Bia, where she had spent seven years.
