Lucky Enterprises hires Mathieson

Mike Mathieson, the founder of Cake, is joining Lucky Enterprises as its first chief executive.

Lucky Generals set up the company last year to back entrepreneurs and has since helped two start-ups: sports marketing agency Dark Horses and experience design company Wild Things.

Mathieson will be a “significant shareholder” in Lucky Enterprises.

He founded Cake in 1999 and sold it to Havas for £12m in 2008. Mathieson left the agency at the end of 2015 and has since been working on a consultancy basis.

The appointment will allow Lucky Generals founders Danny Brooke-taylor, Helen Calcraft and Andy Nairn to focus on the core agency after they sold a majority stake to TBWA. Nik Upton, who joined Lucky Enterprises as chief operating officer in January last year, will refocus on Lucky Generals in the same role.

Mathieson said: “It’s the perfect time and place to pick up from my past experience with Cake and experiment with building a new portfolio model. In Dark Horses and Wild Things, we already have two very exciting and differentiating brands to develop and grow.”