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Juju Studio launches
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James Fox, Augusto Sola and Imali Hettiarachchi open a new-model creative company in London backed by independent South American network Untold.
James Fox, the former CEO of Havas London; Imali Hettiarachchi, the former Strategy Lead at The LEGO Group; and Augusto Sola, the former Creative Partner at Lucky Generals New York, have launched Juju Studio, an independent creative company built around a new model: the creative residency.
Brands that join the Juju Studio residency work directly with the three partners to tackle business and consumer challenges, with a shared ambition: to uncover ideas that unlock brand value and drive growth.
Rooted in Latin American values, the residency embraces the belief that the best ideas and strongest relationships emerge from spending time together, sharing diverse perspectives, and making space for meaningful conversation. This spirit of partnership sits at the heart of the residency.
The partners believe creativity can do far more for a business than it is currently being asked to, and that it takes true partnership to get there. Between them, they have seen brand-building from the network, the independent start-up and the client side, and Juju Studio is designed to put that senior experience in the room for every resident, from the first conversation onwards.
Juju Studio launches in London. The three partners are shareholders in the business, which is backed by renowned South American creative powerhouse Untold, founded by legendary industry entrepreneur and Executive Chairman, Dario Straschnoy.
The founders, Partner & CEO, brings 20 years of experience running creative and client businesses. Most recently CEO of Havas London, the network’s flagship UK agency, he previously spent almost eight years at Lucky Generals, becoming Managing Director, Partner and shareholder before moving to New York to open and run its US office, which grew to deliver half of the agency’s global revenue. Earlier roles at Anomaly, Dare Digital and MCBD took in Google, Converse, Diageo, Budweiser and Premier Foods. He is a Campaign UK 40 Over 40 winner and was a finalist for Campaign UK’s CEO of the Year.
Hettiarachchi, Partner & Chief Strategy Officer, joins from The LEGO Group, where over five years she launched and relaunched franchises including NINJAGO, LEGO Friends and LEGO DOTS, before moving to the Masterbrand team to shape strategy on innovation projects such as LEGO’s global partnership with Nike. Before LEGO she held senior strategy roles at BBH London, adam&eveDDB and Pablo, where she led strategy on the global Deliveroo account, and helped win Disney+, the V&A and Trainline. She was one of 14 expert voices in WARC’s Future of Strategy 2025.
Sola, Partner & Chief Creative Officer, has 23 years of experience and has started two agencies, in London and New York. A founding partner at 101 London before its sale to Mullen Lowe, he opened Lucky Generals’ New York office in 2019 and went on to a global creative role across London and New York. His work for brands including Stella Artois, Cadbury, Eurostar and Baileys has been recognised at Cannes Lions, D&AD, the One Show and the Webby Awards, as well as the Edinburgh, Berlin and Tribeca film festivals.
Fox said: “The best results I’ve seen have always come from the best relationships: senior, frank and outcome-led. Too often the model gets in the way of that. Juju Studio is built so it doesn’t. Our residents get the three of us, and we’ll be judged on what we achieve together, not on the hours we log.”
Hettiarachchi adds: “Being inside one of the world’s most successful brands has changed how I see strategy work. Working alongside people from product, insights, retail, entertainment and memberships, I saw how much a brand’s value is shaped long before anyone writes a comms brief. Some of the strongest strategic thinking happens in that early space, when the business problem leads the way, not deliverables on a brief. That’s the spirit we’ve built Juju Studio around: understanding what a brand is really up against, commercially and culturally, and tackling it together.”
Sola added: “Creativity is one of the most powerful tools a business has, and it’s rarely asked to do all it can. In every business I’ve built, I’ve seen it make the biggest impact when people who are brilliant at their craft, and good humans too, are close to the challenges of the business. That’s how we’ve built Juju Studio, and it’s what we want to bring to brands that want to be more ambitious.”
Dario Straschnoy, Founder & Executive Chairman, Untold, said: “London represents a new step in the evolution of Untold. It will allow us to connect even more talent, cultures, and capabilities, be close to our clients in new geographies, and continue building opportunities without borders. To bring Latin America to the world and bring the world to Latin America. The traditional entry point into Europe for Latin American business is Spain, but the UK is one of the world’s most admired markets and has a depth and breadth of talent unlike anywhere else. Like everything we do at Untold, we saw the opportunity to do something different - and we took it.”
