Five minutes with Sarah Townsend
Meet our Head of Technology & AI – Sarah Townsend
Say hello to our new Head of Technology & AI, Sarah Townsend. With nearly two decades of experience leading digital and technology transformation across integrated agencies, Sarah is passionate about helping businesses unlock the real potential of technology and AI. From shaping smarter ways of working to driving better marketing outcomes, she’ll be leading our global technology and AI offering into its next chapter. So, without further ado, let’s spend five minutes with Sarah.
Tell us about your career before you joined Fox Agency.
I started my career in Music and Publishing, then after a quick stint as a Media Studies teacher at a Secondary School, I decided that I was going to throw myself into agency life. Since then, I’ve spent the last 18 years working at various integrated agencies in Digital and Technology-led roles.
What does your new role as Head of Technology & AI entail?
I’ll be driving Fox Agency’s future Technology and AI offering so that together, we can establish our position as a leader in Technology-driven, B2B marketing.
I’ll be leading on the development of our internal AI capabilities, but also helping our clients to optimise their marketing efforts and results through the use of Technology and AI.
It’s a super exciting role and I couldn’t be happier that I’m able to do this at an agency like Fox.
What excites you most about leading technology and AI for Fox Agency on a global scale?
The sheer potential.
What excites me the most is the chance to turn AI from a buzzword into an area that can help the agency and our clients to scale and grow. Building this into how Fox thinks and works across current and untapped markets is going to be challenging but mega rewarding!
In your opinion, what are the biggest misconceptions businesses have about AI today?
That AI will replace human employees. While it’s true it can handle a lot of repetitive tasks, it actually liberates people to focus on strategic input and creative problem solving. It’s not just artificial intelligence, it’s additional intelligence.
Another misconception is that AI is an instant fix. In fact, getting the best out of it requires a lot of up-front work in terms of planning, testing and refinement.
What’s one piece of technology advice you find yourself giving clients most often?
Simplicity is key. Lots of clients have big shiny tech stacks that cost a fortune. There’s often no central governance layer or single source of truth across data and insights which means things can become unmanageable and untrustworthy very quickly.
Finally, tell us something interesting or unique about yourself?
I was once in a band, but after one UK tour I decided life on the road wasn’t for me.
