Closing the gap between what gets built and what gets bought.
Twenty years turning proprietary technology and data into revenue - across fintech, adtech, SaaS, and electric vehicles. Currently Co-Founder of a new exciting concept studio called HungryMonster, helping bridge the gap between media and creative.
Growth Architect
The pattern repeats regardless of sector: find the proprietary capability nobody's monetised yet, build the commercial architecture around it, and turn it into recurring revenue rather than a one-off win. Fintech growth infrastructure. Email growth stacks. EV charging partnerships. AI content platforms. Different technology, same thesis: capability without a commercial architecture is just a cost center.
First-principles before frameworks, reduce every problem to what's actually true before applying convention. Evidence over instinct, trust what people do, not what they say, because consistency over time is the only real signal. And the loop has to close: nothing counts as progress until it's been measured against an outcome.
Reverse-chronological. Each chapter is the same shape: the pattern, then the evidence.
- 2015 – PresentEnterprise Scale-Up
- Dec 2026 – PresentHungry Monster Studio
- 2019 – Nov 2026Publicis Media
- 2015 – 2016Essence Mediacom
- 2013 – 2019Hyper-Growth Startups
- 2016 – 2019Pod Point
- 2014 – 2015Mailcloud
- 2013 – 2014WorldRemit
- 2004 – 2013Early Career
- 2004 – 2013Media & technology BD roles
- 2015 – PresentEnterprise Scale-Up
- Dec 2026 – PresentHungry Monster Studio
- 2019 – Nov 2026Publicis Media
- 2015 – 2016Essence Mediacom
- 2013 – 2019Hyper-Growth Startups
- 2016 – 2019Pod Point
- 2014 – 2015Mailcloud
- 2013 – 2014WorldRemit
- 2004 – 2013Early Career
- 2004 – 2013Media & technology BD roles
Essence Mediacom
VP of Growth (Contract)Independent growth and performance marketing consultancy to senior client and agency teams, bridging the Mailcloud exit and the move into Pod Point.
Business development and commercial roles across media and technology businesses — the foundation everything above was built on: lead generation, sales narrative, client relationship management, and revenue operations.
Selected case studies
Longer-form writeups of the work behind the numbers. Most recent first.
- 01 · Publicis Media2025 — Present
LEONA
AI content agent platform on a path to a £50m+ revenue opportunity.
AIPlatformCommercialisationRead → - 02 · Publicis Media2023 — 2025
Global AI Content Production Network
Cut production costs 50% while lifting client performance 30%.
AIOperationsPerformanceRead → - 03 · Publicis Media2020 — 2021
OneSearch
Best Overall SEM Solution, MarTech Breakthrough Awards 2021.
ProductSearchAward-winningRead → - 04 · Publicis Media2020 — 2021
Data Signal Recovery
Recovered 30% of lost audience signal, protecting client media ROI.
DataClean RoomsMedia ROIRead → - 05 · Pod Point2018
VW × Tesco Charging Network
Industry-first free-to-use charging network across 1,500 locations.
PartnershipsEVRecurring RevenueRead → - 06 · Pod Point2016 — 2019
15% → 45% Market Share
Made Pod Point the dominant UK EV charging brand ahead of the EDF acquisition.
GrowthBrandExitRead → - 07 · Mailcloud2014 — 2015
Mailcloud Growth Stack
Built the growth stack behind Europe's largest seed round of its time and a Microsoft acquisition.
StartupMarTechExitRead → - 08 · WorldRemit2013 — 2014
WorldRemit Growth Infrastructure
30% compound MoM growth to a £1bn valuation across 42 countries.
FintechUnicornInternationalRead →
I'm co-building Hungry Monster Studio, a creative technology studio built on the same thesis as everything above: that creative and media are one conversation, not two departments.
It's early. Pre-revenue, pre-client, building in public toward a first pilot. If that stage is interesting to you rather than a dealbreaker, get in touch.
- Le Grand StudioPublicis leadership programme, selective cohort for high-potential senior talent2021
- MarTech BreakthroughBest Overall SEM Solution, OneSearch2021
- PublicisOutstanding Individual Contribution Award2020
- GoogleAgency Team of the Year2020
- The DrumMost Effective Use of Data or Insights2020
- Media WeekBest Use of Data for Audience Buying2020
Shannon McDonald
Open to conversations, not pitches.