Dean Lee and Michael Mayes have been hired to serve as the executive creative director team that will lead agency Zulu Alpha Kilo’s Western Canadian office in Vancouver, which was officially launched just last month.
Agency founder and chief creative officer Zak Mroueh said, “I’ve been following Dean’s career for years and have worked closely with Michael at Zulu and TAXI. They are two exceptional creative talents, who also happen to be very nice people. I’m looking forward to the energy they’ll bring to our team and the impact they’ll have on our clients.”
An art director by trade, Lee was most recently ECD at DDB Vancouver, where he had a 25-year creative track record going back to the days when it was Palmer Jarvis. During his time at the agency, he worked with brands including McDonald’s, PepsiCo, SunRype, Labatt, Destination Canada, Rocky Mountaineer, BC Lottery Corporation, BCAA, BC Hydro, TELUS, Pacific Blue Cross, BC Dairy, and helped launch Netflix in Canada.
Lee’s work has been recognized at national and international advertising shows including Cannes, The One Show, Communication Arts, The Clios, D&AD, London International Awards and Marketing Awards. He also co-chairs The James Lee Foundation to help aspiring creative talent break into the advertising world.
Originally from Calgary, writer and creative director Mayes worked with Mroueh previously at TAXI in Toronto, creating campaigns for brands including WestJet, The Movie Network, Williams Sonoma, Viagra, Nike, Molson, and launching MINI across Canada. The two also worked together to establish TAXI Vancouver, where Mayes was its first CD and helped grow the office from zero to 25 people, working on brands including TELUS, Vancouver Aquarium, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Meinhardt Fine Foods, and Crofton House School.
Along the way, Mayes’ work has been recognized internationally at Cannes, The One Show, London International Advertising Awards, and the Marketing Awards to name a few. For the past decade, he has been one of the most highly respected freelancers for several local Vancouver agencies and worked with Lee previously at DDB when he first arrived in Vancouver in 2005. In 2013, Mayes wrote his first children’s book, “Which Way Back?,” for BC’s Knowledge Network which became the Number 1 Children’s Title on the BC Bestsellers list.
Zulu will be employing the ECD team’s talents in Vancouver for local, regional, and national work. Zulu’s western-based clients already include a2 Milk, Enmax, plus other local brands to be announced. Zulu also continues to service Subaru Canada’s Western regions.
