The most recent additions at 123w, from left to right: Eric Seymour, Sammy Rifai, Addie Gillespie, Kim Ridgewell, Mia Thomsett, Danielle Haythorne, Dominic Prevost, Taeyeon Kim and Caroline Howson.

Vancouver’s 123w has five more creative directors in its ranks following a series of hires and promotions.

Addie Gillespie and Mia Thomsett have been hired from Camp Pacific, where they had been since 2011 (when it was still known as Dare Vancouver). While there, the pair had worked with 123w ECDs Rob Sweetman and Bryan Collins, who left Dare to co-found 123w in 2013.

Danielle Haythorne and Dominic Prevost, who joined 123w from Rethink as ACDs in 2014, have both been promoted to creative director. Also receiving a promotion is Kim Ridgewell, who joined 123w as an ACD and designer in early 2014 just a few months after the agency opened its doors.

Collins said that the three promotions were “long overdue” and that having a deep roster of CDs fits best with 123w’s model, as it allows the agency to expand teams to fit individual projects under dedicated creative leadership.

Outside of the creative department, 123w hired Sammy Rifai as group strategy director in January. He was most recently on the strategy team in Cossette’s Vancouver office, but also brings experience from media agencies like MEC and Carat. Over the last twelve months, the agency has also brought on Caroline Howson as group account director, as well as Eric Seymour and Taeyeon Kim as designers.

The new hires come on the heels of a number of new projects at the agency over the last year for clients including BC Lottery Corporation, Lululemon, White Spot & Triple O’s Restaurants, BCAA, Michelin, Logic Communications, St. George’s University, YWCA, Tim Hortons, Save-On-Foods, Canadian Mental Health Association, Earth’s Own, KOHO and the Canada Media Fund. Most of the new assignments are project-based, which CEO Scot Keith says fits with the agency’s goals.

“All we ask of new clients is to try us on one job. If we provide great results and value, they’ll hire us again and again.” says 123w CEO Scot Keith. “Our model is ‘low overhead and high talent,’ which means we don’t waste money on things like trendy offices, so we can invest heavily in very talented people.”