Jeremy Gayton entered the advertising business in 1996 at Grey Worldwide, where he worked as an account executive for clients like Unilever, P&G and 3M. In 2002 he joined Taxi to run the Telus business. He was eventually promoted to director of client services, and during his two-year run the account group grew from 15 to 42 people.

Last September, Gayton launched Taxi’s second Toronto office with creative director Lance Martin. They took eight staff members with them, as well as the agency’s Fresca, Jack Astor’s and Mini accounts.

And it’s been a good year for them. ‘We’ve grown our client base from three to 14,’ says Gayton. (The new clients include the Toronto Raptors, Canyon Creek, Discount Car and Truck Rental and Purdy’s Chocolates.)

As nominator Rob Guenette tells us, ‘Taxi 2 is profitable, with an outstanding new business record, and it has achieved high creative results – including Cannes Lion and Applied Arts awards – in its first year of operation.’

Taxi 2’s attention-getting Mini campaign features 3-D effects on the brand’s website, as well as billboards featuring mounted Plexiglas Minis with headlights beaming into the sky. And the ‘Let There Be Zenon’ OOH effort won a Bronze Lion at Cannes this year. But Gayton doesn’t want to single out one campaign.

‘We’re focused on establishing our credentials,’ he says, ‘building a wide enough client base that we can make a name for ourselves while upholding Taxi’s standards. And so far, we’re doing it. The agency has doubled in size in our first year, and we’ve exceeded all the targets set for us. We haven’t been really trumpeting our big business wins, but that’s not from lack of pride – it’s more, ‘Let’s establish ourselves and then start touting it in the marketplace.”

Says Guenette: ‘Jeremy is a natural leader. He’s thoughtful, approachable and resourceful – and his charisma, coupled with his business acumen, makes him a strong boardroom player.

‘There are two levers for moving people, fear and interest, and Jeremy uses interest,’ he adds. ‘He’s an ambitious guy who always delivers the goods.’