London, United Kingdom, September 2025 — Derek Walters has recently been appointed as Head of Talent Acquisition at Strata, where he will lead the company’s talent strategy to support its continued growth in crafting award-winning brand experiences. In his new role, he will focus on building a scalable recruitment function, strengthening employer branding, and driving inclusive hiring practices across the agency.
Prior to joining Strata, Walters worked at Everybody Agency | Certified B Corp as Talent Acquisition Partner, where he established a comprehensive recruitment function across both UK and US markets. His achievements included delivering significant cost savings through direct sourcing, implementing GDPR-compliant applicant tracking systems, and championing diversity and inclusion by embedding inclusive hiring policies and training managers. He was also responsible for filling roles across multiple disciplines, including sales, marketing, customer success, technology, data, creative, and project management.
Earlier, he spent more than five years with GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, as Talent Acquisition Lead. In this role, he managed end-to-end recruitment across multiple WPP agencies in the UK and EMEA. He played a key role in launching the “All Means All” DE&I initiative, founded the PrideM LGBTQI+ network, and co-launched Mindshare Roots to support ethnically diverse talent. He also led the rollout of behavioural science-driven hiring tools and coached a team of talent managers while consistently exceeding recruitment goals.
Before that, Walters worked with Dentsu as Talent Acquisition Manager, where he managed large hiring portfolios across diverse agency brands in the UK and EMEA. He began his recruitment career at Xchangeteam, where he spent more than five years placing top digital and technology talent while building strong client relationships and new business pipelines.
With deep expertise in recruitment strategy, employer branding, and DE&I initiatives, Derek Walters brings a proven track record of building effective and inclusive hiring frameworks that will strengthen Strata’s ability to deliver exceptional experiences for clients.
About Strata
Strata is an award-winning agency dedicated to crafting unforgettable brand experiences through insight-driven strategy and creative expertise. With a team of over 100 professionals, Strata delivers integrated solutions spanning experience design, creative communications, experiential marketing, virtual and hybrid events, delegate management, incentives, and large-scale event production. By maximising value through integrated and innovative approaches, Strata continues to deliver moments that matter for some of the world’s most recognised brands.
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