Two of the most senior people at Roche Macaulay & Partners are leaving to open their own agency.

Dave Crichton, associate creative director and Susan Kim-Kirkland, director of strategic planning, will open the doors of The Crichton Kim-Kirkland Company early next month.

Kim-Kirkland has been with Roche for 18 months where she was responsible for the high-profile Harry Rosen campaign and the launch of Rosen’s own magazine, Harry.

She worked at Xerox, Kellogg and Leo Burnett before that.

Crichton, a copywriter, is leaving behind longtime partner Graham Lee, who is staying on at Roche as associate creative director.

Crichton and Lee began working at Roche in January 1995 after a stint at J. Walter Thompson where they first began working as a team.

Prior to jwt, Crichton was with Bates Canada.

He is known for his award-winning work for clients such as the Canadian Egg Marketing Board and Ikea.