ABOUT US
We help agency owners
build futures worth looking forward to.
What we do
How we help agencies scale faster
At Agency Futures, we’ve walked the same road as our clients: growing agencies, navigating challenging environments , and exiting at scale. We understand that your agency is more than just a business: it’s your life’s work. And so we understand how high the stakes are when it comes to a major decision like the one you’re considering.
Founded by former agency leaders, we exist to help independent founders and management teams make better strategic decisions, whether that’s preparing for exit, growing through acquisition, or finding the perfect partner to merge with.
We bring global reach, hands-on experience, and a sharp understanding of what makes a business scalable, valuable, and future-ready. But more than that, we bring empathy, because we’ve been there.
Meet the Team
Doug Baxter
Founder & CEO
Doug started Agency Futures in 2019 with a clear mission: to help agency founders achieve the best outcomes through M&A. Doug’s own first exit could have been much better and he used these learnings to achieve much better outcomes in later deals. With over two decades of leadership in high-growth agencies across digital, content and technology, Doug has worked both client-side and inside founder-led businesses, often navigating complex international deals and transformations.
Having built, scaled, and sold agencies across multiple continents, including the UK, US, and Asia-Pacific, Doug brings a rare combination of strategic insight and hands-on experience. He understands the emotional weight behind selling a business because he’s done it himself. That empathy drives how Agency Futures operates: direct, informed, and always founder-first.
Today, Doug leads our global team and manages top-tier buyer relationships, overseeing transactions from initial brief to final close. He’s a trusted advisor to owners looking to grow, merge or exit on the best possible terms.
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Simon Morgan
Partner
Simon is a former agency founder who’s led, grown, and exited multiple businesses across the digital and loyalty marketing space. With a background spanning network agencies, independent shops, and corporate leadership, he’s uniquely positioned to bridge the creative and commercial sides of the M&A equation.
He brings both technical rigour and creative intuition to every deal. From valuation modelling to brand positioning, Simon helps agency leaders identify where value lies, and how to build toward it. His global mindset and extensive experience across Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America make him an invaluable partner for agencies looking to scale or sell in complex, cross-border environments.
Simon is also an accredited business advisor and business broker, giving him formal credentials to back up his decades of practical experience.
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Board Advisor
Jane brings strategic gravity and deep empathy to Agency Futures. As the former CEO of M&C Saatchi Talk and a long-time leader in the UK creative and communications industry, she’s guided some of the most iconic agencies through periods of rapid change, cultural evolution, and strategic redefinition.
Awarded an OBE for services to the creative industry, Jane has long championed empathetic leadership, founder integrity, and business transformation rooted in purpose. At Agency Futures, she plays a critical role advising on positioning, integration strategy and founder alignment, particularly where cultural fit is key.
Jane’s superpower is spotting potential and helping founders shape it. She’s a sounding board, a strategic mentor, and a powerful advocate for making M&A feel less corporate, and more human.
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Charlie Buckwell
Senior Advisor, Healthcare
Charlie Buckwell brings more than thirty years of experience spanning the global pharmaceutical industry and healthcare communications. Starting in global marketing at AstraZeneca across neuroscience and oncology, he moved into agency leadership - building and scaling McCann Health Medical Communications into a differentiated, award-winning business, before serving as President of McCann Health EMEA and most recently as a member of the Executive Leadership Team at IPG Health.
Charlie joins Agency Futures as a Senior Advisor focusing on the healthcare and medical communications sector, working with independent agency founders navigating growth, partnership, and transaction decisions - and with buyers seeking specialist capability and a deeper understanding of how value is created in this market.
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Julia Kinas
Research Manager
Julia leads the research behind every Agency Futures mandate. She maps the buyer landscape, identifies and qualifies the right acquirers, and runs the outreach that puts our clients in front of them. From building the longlists to tracking who is buying what across the market, her work is where every successful match starts. Based in Dublin, she works across all of our deals and time zones with the partners.
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Latest thinking
The Many acquires Catalyst XR
Agency Futures advises The Many on their acquisition of CatalystXR.
Growth by Agency Merger - Is That Really an Option?
Running an independent agency isn’t easy. Budgets shrink, margins tighten, and talent is harder to retain. New business takes longer and costs more. And founders still face the AI question: how to adopt it without losing their value.
Working Capital in Agency Deals: The Hidden Value Lever
If you're preparing to sell your agency, you’re probably (rightly) focused on buyer fit, EBITDA multiples, and earn-outs. But there’s another number that can quietly swing hundreds of thousands in or out of your deal:
Global reach
Barcelona. Los Angeles. Sydney.
With offices in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Sydney, we work across time zones and borders to connect ambitious founders with like-minded buyers and partners. Whether you’re exploring a sale, looking to acquire, or just planning ahead, we bring global reach with a grounded, independent perspective.
THE PLAYBOOK
The Match-Fit Playbook
Agency M&A, from growth to exit. The practical guide to building agency value and navigating a sale on your terms, drawn from the deals we advise on.
Thinking about your next move?
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