Addie Gillespie and Mia Thomsett are the new creative directors at Dare Vancouver, charged with leading creative teams across the agency’s portfolio of clients, including BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, BCLC, McDonald’s and the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Thomsett (left) and Gillespie
Gillespie and Thomsett joined Dare two years ago as associate creative directors, and have since produced work for clients such as MTS, John Frieda, and the Whistler Film Festival. They have collected accolades from the One Show, Cannes, the Webby Awards and the Bessies.
The appointments are effective immediately. Richard Hadden will continue on in his role as president and chief creative officer for Dare.
Colin Schleining, president for EDC North America (the Vision 7 division under which Dare operates) said the agency held an extensive Canadian and international search for the creative director spots vacated by Rob Sweetman and Bryan Collins in February. Gillespie and Thomsett won out based on their excellent track record at the agency, he said.
“It was a natural progression for them to take on the top job now,” he said. “We hope to continue with the momentum we’re building and continue to be a top-ranked agency in this country.”
Dare has seen a lot of change in the past few months. Aside from Sweetman and Collins’ departure to start their own company, John Hall, former senior vice-president of planning, left in May to fill the newly created position of senior vice-president and director of media innovation at MacLaren McCann Vancouver.
Schleining told Marketing that Hall’s SVP role will not be filled, but Dare is looking for people to fill Gillespie and Thomsett’s old ACD roles.
