Sandyford event agency embarks on ambitious growth plan to double in size

An Irish brand experience and creative event agency, founded by Róisín Callaghan and Jane Gallagher 10 years ago and based in Sandyford, is now embarking on an ambitious growth plan that is aiming to double its size over the coming years.

The business, formerly known as Green Light Events, has just undergone a major rebrand to be known as Cogs & Marvel and has today announced moves for international expansion with the opening of its first overseas office in San Francisco, USA .

To support and lead the business in achieving its growth plans, the company has also recently appointed Dave Smyth, former MD of Ogilvy & Mather Ireland, to the position of Chief Executive Officer.  The company is actively building further depth and expertise to its senior management team including the recruitment of Creative Directors, Graphic Designers and Production/Technical Engineers.          

These latest developments follow an impressive period of sustained growth over the past 12 months which saw Cogs & Marvel grow its workforce from 16 people to 40 people and revenues rising to almost €18m from €10m in 2015.  Last year alone, the company was supporting its clients in organising and developing a wide range of creative events, from major industry conferences to in-house company days, that brought it to 22 countries across four continents.  Among the client brands that Cogs & Marvel has supported are leading brands including Facebook, Google, Twitter, Uber, Mastercard, Fáilte Ireland and The Financial Times. 

The opening of the San Francisco office is in response to an ambitious growth plan to further internationalise the business and double its turnover to €36m.  Co-founder Róisín Callaghan is relocating to North America and heading up the San Francisco based team.  The move will enable Cogs & Marvel to support many of its existing clients who are already based in Silicon Valley and who are looking for a single partner to be able to execute their activity in multiple markets.

Commenting on Cogs & Marvel’s expansion, co-founder Jane Gallagher said: “With ever increasing ambitions comes the need to grow up and grow out. We felt that part of growing up was bringing in seasoned professionals, including Dave Smyth as CEO and Killian Whelan as non-executive chairman to help us become more strategic in our way of doing business.  We are very excited about the future and the new talent that we are now putting in place.”

In response to the opening of the new San Francisco office and the rebrand to Cogs & Marvel, co-founder Róisín Callaghan said: “To grow out, we want to expand our reach to clients in other industries and in other geographic markets.  Establishing our first international office on the west coast of USA in San Francisco is the most logical first move.  Stronger strategic thinking and creativity is at the heart of our growth ambitions and the re-brand to Cogs & Marvel, which is reflective of our commitment to deliver the ‘How’ and ‘Wow’ factor for our client events, is an accelerator that we feel will help us to achieve traction quicker.”

Headquartered in Sandyford, Dublin, Cogs & Marvel is a specialist full-service brand experience and international creative events agency.  Core services provided by Cogs & Marvel include the logistical management and creative delivery to support corporate events and conferences, live events, brand experiences and activations.  The company also operates an in-house travel company to manage all travel and accommodation requirements on behalf of its clients.

Article Published: 14/02/2017