Solar Century poaches chief from Nike

Solar Century, a new 'profits for purpose' company intent on convincing the world to convert to solar power, has lured senior Nike marketer Michelle McKenna to be its marketing director.

It has also appointed the ethical marketing agency Anti-Corp to handle its pounds 1m brand marketing account following a pitch against BMP DDB and Fallon.

McKenna joins Solar Century after more than six years at Nike, most recently as marketing manager for its European retail division. She said she made the jump because she wants to 'channel my experience into something more positive'.

Solar Century is an independent supplier of the world's leading solar technologies.McKenna said: 'It aims to create a solar revolution in the UK and then take on the rest of the world.'

Solar Century is lobbying the government to support the solar industry, either by subsidising buyers' investment in the technology, or paying consumers a premium for the surplus clean electricity they generate through their solar equipment and export to the national grid.

McKenna said Solar Century needed an agency that 'believes in what we are doing and has had huge experience in building brands'.

Anti-Corp's brief is to be the strategic brand architect, covering everything from devising the logo to designing the web site.

'We want to transform the brand from its current niche position into something much more mainstream,' said McKenna.

This article was first published on Marketing