David&Goliath continues to expand its creative team after scoring a surprise win by swiping the Jack In The Box account from Secret Weapon.
Today founder and chairman David Angelo announced the appointment of three executive creative directors (the first to hold those titles at D&G): GCDs Ben Purcell and Steve Yee have been promoted and the agency hired Bobby Pearce.
Angelo tells Adweek that his shop has added approximately 40 people to its staff over the past four months thanks almost exclusively to the Jack in the Box win. Regarding the new structure, he says:
“We never had this sort of team in the past; it was always just me and Colin at the top. These new leaders will work together helping each other spear accounts and come up with big creative ideas.”
Angelo says that D&G uses a “filter” approach to both hiring and new business: “We have a pretty simple solution here: Be authentic; be hardworking; be nice.”
Mike Geiger, who left his position as president of JWT New York to become D&G’s chief digital officer in January, has also hired “six or seven digital creatives” over the past few months. Angelo calls these additions “part of the same general expansion,” adding, “We want this to be careful growth. We’re not looking to become ‘big’ by any means, but we want to grow the agency right.”
Pearce joins David&Goliath from m:united in New York, where he has served as executive creative director since January. Prior to joining m:united, he co-founded Van Winkle + Pearce in Atlanta and spent more than two years there overseeing all creative and new business. That followed over three and a half years as CCO for BBDO Atlanta. He has also served as executive creative director with 22 Squared and as a creative director with Fallon and GS&P. Over the course of his career he has worked with such brands as Budweiser, AT&T, Citibank, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, Lee Jeans, REI and Embassy Suites.
Purcell arrived at David&Goliath back in 1999, joining “four other people and one copy machine” at the independent agency. In addition to helping to grow the agency to its current state, Purcell was instrumental in helping to lead its Kia account. Before joining David&Goliath, he spent four years freelancing for agencies including W+K, BBDO West, TBWA\Chiat\Day and Fallon McElligott. He also spent a year with Band of Gypsies, working on Hardee’s and La Salsa.
Yee joined David&Goliath as an associate creative director back in February of 2009, subsequently receiving promotions to creative director the next October and group creative director in October of 2013. Before joining David&Goliath he spent two and a half years serving as a senior art director for TBWA\Chiat\Day. Prior to that he served as an art director for Fallon New York and GS&P. He has worked with brands including the Grammys, Hewlett Packard, Saturn, Time magazine and Emerald Nuts.
“We’re thrilled to elevate Ben and Steve, who have been with us for many years and have earned this promotion many times over,” said Angelo. “The addition of Bobby Pearce is equally exciting – his talents go well beyond the success he’s had building great brands over the years. He is passionate, true to himself, and exactly the kind of creative leader we want to help inspire our people and create great work.”
Angelo also says that the hiring spree isn’t over:
“We’re not only taking our clients to the next level but positioning the agency for future growth. We’re still looking for our fourth ECD, which will complete the team.”
The shop is currently working on Kia’s seventh consecutive Super Bowl ad.