CEO MONTHLY / JANUARY 2026 9 the teams now operating atop a stronger sense of shared responsibility, ownership, pride, and commercial success and Luke adjusting his leadership to be less about hierarchy and more about shared accountability. Luke also credits his mentors – namely Simon Morton, whose ethos can be seen rooted deep in Eyeful’s culture – with supporting the way he both manages and approaches leadership. Eyeful’s work with clients such as Microsoft, Adobe, and PepsiCo has also provided direct access to senior leaders and executive teams across some of the world’s largest organisations. Seeing how these leaders operate firsthand – and collaborating with them on high-stakes projects – sets a benchmark that continually raises the bar. It is the sum of all of these experiences that has led to Luke adopting a simple philosophy about being a leader. He commented: “People do their best work when they feel trusted, challenged, and supported – in that order.” This has laid the groundwork for an exceptional culture within Eyeful, one where having the right people, the right priorities, and the right cultural foundations are all equally as important in driving success. Talent only matters so much and behaviour is just as important – if not even more so. What this shows is Luke’s belief that progress is built on action, not intention. This school of thought is particularly interesting of late, given that AI has become a huge point of contention within the industry. As Luke told us: “When I explain that our business is to help other businesses when they need to present, the typical response is, ‘You’re in trouble. AI will replace all that’.” Luke does not think that this is the case quite yet, and the fact that Eyeful has just closed on its best year ever with record revenue and profit suggests he is right. Eyeful achieved this not by becoming an AI shop, but by doubling down on what’s always mattered: its people, the quality of its work, and the value it delivers for its customers and partners. Eyeful then backed its people and empowered them to use AI to make these things even better. AI is treated as an efficiency tool and a skills multiplier as opposed to something that can replace what Eyeful and other such agencies offer to their clients. “The line that stuck with me was: ‘You’re not going to be replaced by AI; you’re going to be replaced by someone who knows how to use AI better than you’.” Rounding off his thoughts, Eyeful’s CEO turned his attention to what is next, not only for the agency but for himself as well. The conversation again turned to the EOT model, which is particularly poignant as the agency approaches its ‘Financial Freedom Day’ , the day where the debt from purchasing the business is paid off and all future profits come back into the organisation. This operational pivot is something that will create real change in the lives of the agency’s employees, and Luke recognises it is his responsibility to see this reaches its full potential. “The people who helped build Eyeful deserve to feel the full benefit of what they’ve created, and I see it as one of my future responsibilities to help make that happen,” he shared. As for how he will achieve this, it is business as usual for Eyeful’s CEO as we approach 2026. Luke concluded: “I just plan to keep doing what’s worked so far: working hard, staying grounded and remaining curious. We’re all operating in a moment of extraordinary change – AI and tech is evolving at a pace none of us have seen before, and it’s reshaping how businesses communicate, create, and make decisions. It’s an exciting time, but also an unpredictable one – none of us really know what the next decade will look like. What I do know is that staying curious, adaptable, and willing to experiment will be essential.” Contact: Luke Riordan Company: Eyeful Presentations Web Address: https:// eyefulpresentations.com/
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