Rob Guenette, CEO TAXI, announces two executive appointments being implemented to strategically align the senior group that leads TAXI North America: Jeremy Gayton to President, TAXI (English Canada) and Durk Barnhill to President, TAXI New York, both reporting directly to Guenette. The appointments are effective July 1, 2010. Yves Blain, Vice-President, GM, TAXI Montréal, will continue to report directly to Guenette.
“Durk and Jeremy represent the future leadership of the business for TAXI North America,” stated Chief Executive Officer, Rob Guenette, who says this organizational change is part of a succession plan that he has been working on for the last 12 months. This will allow Guenette to increase his focus on the development and growth of TAXI internationally.
Jeremy Gayton joined TAXI in 2002 as Group Director on TELUS Mobility. After demonstrating strong leadership, business development and mentoring skills, he progressed to Client Services Director in 2004. In 2006, Gayton became the GM of the newly formed TAXI 2, which has since flourished into a full-service agency with a robust client base that includes BMW’s MINI, Yellow Pages Group,
Burger King, Koodo and Dundee Wealth. In 2009, Gayton was given responsibility for both offices in Toronto as General Manager.
“Since Jeremy joined TAXI, he has maintained a steady upward momentum due to his dedication to building the business, setting strategic objectives and outstanding operational skills. Jeremy has clearly demonstrated that he has the leadership skills to continue his success in his new role as president,” stated Guenette.
“Being a part of TAXI’s tremendous growth over the past eight years has only cemented what drew me to TAXI in the first place the strength and consistency of our creative product is incomparable and the collection of people who work here is incredible. I’m very proud of who we are and what we do, and extremely excited to lead the business into the future,” added Jeremy Gayton.
Durk Barnhill joined the TAXI team in 2009 as GM, TAXI New York. Barnhill has a strong commitment to growth, leadership and delivering results. Barnhill brings 20 years of agency experience to his position, as well as an ability to motivate his team and clients to work together in a truly collaborative fashion.
“TAXI NYC has had a great year attracting several new clients such as HBO, History Channel, New Holland and The Jewish Federations of North America. We have an amazingly talented and dedicated team here in New York and I look forward to continuing to grow the agency and its creative reputation in the years ahead,” said Barnhill.
“Since Durk joined TAXI in 2009, the industry has experienced one of the worst economic times in history, one in which the U.S. was hit particularly hard, yet he was able to muscle through this, identifying new client opportunities while maintaining his passion for the creative product and implementing cost efficiencies,” said Guenette. “Durk has more than proven that he has the leadership capabilities to drive further growth in the American marketplace and establish New York as a key player in the industry,” Guenette added.
About TAXI
TAXI Canada Inc. (www.taxi.ca), TAXI Inc. (www.taxi-nyc.com) and TAXI Europe BV (www.taxi-eu.com) are companies with core expertise in Strategic Planning, Advertising, Design, Interactive, Relationship Marketing and Content. Founded in Montréal (1992), TAXI has offices in Toronto, New York, Calgary, Vancouver and Amsterdam. TAXI was named Canadian Agency of the Year by Marketing magazine in 2001 and 2005, and won Strategy magazine’s Agency of the Year award in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2008. TAXI New York, in 2007 and 2008, won the O¹Toole Award for Creative Excellence from the American Association of Advertising Agencies. Canadian clients include TELUS, Canadian Tire, WestJet, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Bombardier, Burger King, BMW¹s MINI, Boston Pizza and Pfizer¹s VIAGRA. U.S. clients include New York Life, Blue Shield of California, Rail Europe Group and New Holland Agriculture. TAXI Europe clients include KPN Royal Dutch Telecom International, Heineken, TNT Post, BNP Paribas, ING, and the Hi and Telfort telecommunications brands.
