Argonaut Hires Droga5 Vet Topher Lorette as Head of Production

By Erik Oster 

San Francisco agency Argonaut appointed Topher Lorette as its head of production. He replaces Dan Watson in the position,  who is leaving to pursue personal passion projects. 

Lorette joins Argonaut from Droga5, where he has served as executive producer, group integrated production manager for the past year and a half. Before joining Droga5 he spent a stint as a freelance executive integrated producer, working with agencies including Ogilvy New York, JWT New York, GS&P New York, AKQA San Francisco and R/GA L.A., and clients including Coca-Cola, Beats by Dre, Smirnoff and Nvidia. Prior to that he spent a year as executive integrated producer at the Los Angeles office of Deutsch. That followed six years as vice president, producer at Grey New York and two years as assistant producer/senior account executive at MullenLowe.

Lorette’s appointment follows the arrival of Robert Riccardi (formerly with GS&P) as the agency’s first CEO in April.

Advertisement

“We immediately saw how clear-headed Topher was about forging together great storytelling ideas into fully integrated productions and helping to expand a campaign’s footprint across all media in a totally efficient way,” Riccardi said in a statement. “It’s a time of growth and evolution for Argonaut, and we’re looking forward to having someone with his range of experience on our team.”

“Argonaut’s culture, creativity, and the sheer passion for the work being done is what drew me to this agency,” added Lorette. “Founders Rick Condos and Hunter Hindman have not only assembled a great team and stellar client roster, they’ve started a creative movement. Any time you have an opportunity to join a movement you believe in, it’s very exciting. I’m also energized by the opportunity to take what I know of integrated production and push the limits of traditional advertising even further, alongside such a dynamic group of people.”

Argonaut was one of AdAge’s “agencies to watch” for 2016. Its clients include MetLife, Appleton Rum and Fitbit, among others.

Advertisement