# Joe Mackay-Sinclair

> Joe Mackay-Sinclair is the London-based co-founder and CEO of The Romans, the public relations agency launched in 2015 with minority backing from Mother. A former creative director at Burson-Marsteller and executive creative director at Citizen, he now leads an agency with offices in London, New York, Dubai, Amsterdam and Berlin. His public interviews focus on creative work, talent, commercial growth and the challenge of retaining an agency’s character as it expands.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at The Romans
- **Organizations:** The Romans, Mother (agency backer), Citizen (former employer), Burson-Marsteller (former employer), Earnies (non-executive director)
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** BA, English Literature (listed by Crunchbase), Goldsmiths, University of London, MA, Renaissance Literature (listed by Crunchbase), University of Leeds, University College London (UCL)
- **Known for:** President, D&AD PR Jury 2018; PR juror in 2023., Joint number one with Lucy McGettigan in PRWeek’s 2026 consumer agency Power Book ranking., Led The Romans as it received Cannes Lions’ inaugural PR Agency of the Year honour in 2025.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2013** — Worked in digital agencies and as a creative director at Burson-Marsteller.
- **2013-2015** — Executive creative director at Citizen; Crunchbase lists May 2013 to January 2015.
- **2015** — Co-founded The Romans with Misha Dhanak, with minority backing from Mother.
- **2018** — President of the D&AD PR jury.
- **2022** — The Romans opened its first overseas office in Brooklyn, led by Sarah Jenkins.
- **2023** — Returned to the D&AD PR jury; public profiles also identify a non-executive director role at Earnies.
- **2025** — The Romans won Cannes Lions’ inaugural PR Agency of the Year award.
- **2026** — Berlin became The Romans’ fifth office; Mackay-Sinclair served on the Cannes Lions PR jury.

## Achievements

- President, D&AD PR Jury 2018; PR juror in 2023.
- Joint number one with Lucy McGettigan in PRWeek’s 2026 consumer agency Power Book ranking.
- Led The Romans as it received Cannes Lions’ inaugural PR Agency of the Year honour in 2025.
- The Romans received Global PR Agency of the Year honours from Campaign and PRWeek in 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Appeared on PRWeek’s Beyond the Noise podcast on 8 October to discuss growth, recruitment, new markets and leadership.
- **2026-04** — The Romans hired Indy Selvarajah as group creative director, reporting to Dan Roberts.
- **2026-02** — The Romans announced its fifth office, in Berlin, led by Sophie Nicholson.

## Links

- Website: https://www.wearetheromans.com/
- LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/joemackaysinclair

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joe-mackay-sinclair
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22