We Are Pi has expanded its team with five hires–head of integrated production Stephanie Whitehead, producer Angus Lees, account director Blyda Eksteen, sr. account manager Rebekah Guilar and strategy coordinator Thuy Pham. The additions come on the back of the Amsterdam-based agency’s biggest ever year with international business wins PepsiCo, Heineken, Nike and Amazon Game Studios.
Whitehead brings 20 years experience at such shops as Wieden+Kennedy, Sid Lee, 72&Sunny, BBH, Knucklehead and AnalogFolk. She’s delivered finely crafted award-winning work for brands including adidas, Absolut, Samsung, Corona, Google, Uber, Facebook, Rayban and Heineken. Whitehead has worked her way around the globe stopping in New York and London, before touching down in Amsterdam. Whitehead is returning to the We Are Pi “Pirate ship” in the new role after having produced some of its most iconic work for Desperados in 2016-2018.
Lees is a producer from London who has recently joined the We Are Pi ship. Originally training as a cinematographer, Lees has brought a breadth of film and photography knowledge to agencies across London from BBH to the & Partnership, Lees has worked on brands such as Lexus, NatWest, Audi and Virgin Media. Outside work Lees is in the concepting phase of a 10-part animation series.
Eksteen, born and raised in South Africa, comes to We Are Pi as an account director with over 10 years experience. She started her career by spending seven years at Saatchi & Saatchi Cape Town, working on P&G Pampers and went on to lead the local and regional EMEA account for Mondelez brands Stimorol & Halls. With a longstanding goal to relocate overseas, Eksteen jumped at the opportunity to work in Amsterdam when she was recruited to work on Mars pet care brand Royal Canin at DDB Unlimited. There she led the global to local market integration and campaign development for over 40 markets.
Guilar was brought up in an Irish household full of music and creativity. She has always loved the idea of bringing art into our everyday interactions in the world. Her move to Amsterdam was spearheaded by landing a role at 72andSunny. Guilar has worked with such brands as Google, adidas, Unilever and Zurich Insurance.
Pham was born and raised in IJmuiden, a small town on the coast of The Netherlands. Thuy brings a background in fashion having worked for footwear brand Filling Pieces and most recently luxury e-commerce retailer Farfetch as a content writer. Earlier this year Thuy joined the PlusPlusOne talent program that We Are Pi co-founded, where she got her eye on the strategy side of marketing.
We Are Pi founder and CEO Alex Bennett Grant said that the new hires from five countries “each bring worldly perspectives that make our international strategies, creativity and culture more innovative.”
Nikki Baker Becomes CEO At Fallon
Fallon has appointed Nikki Baker as its new CEO. Baker, who joined the creative agency in 2018 and has served as co-chief creative officer with Leslie Shaffer since 2021, succeeds Rocky Novak, who has been in the role since 2019.
Baker’s promotion to CEO comes at a time of significant momentum for the agency, including six consecutive years of growth and award-winning work.
Baker’s recent career highlights include creatively leading the Walmart partnership with the Publicis Groupe team and spearheading innovative campaigns such as the award-winning “RomCommerce” 23-episodic series and the internet-breaking Mean Girls campaign, among hundreds of other campaigns together with the brand over the past few years. Together with Shaffer, Baker has also been instrumental in elevating Fallon’s creative output for longstanding clients like Arby’s, Mattress Firm, and Front Door/American Home Shield.
“I’ve always been an admirer of Fallon, even before I joined. The chance to lead the agency is an absolute honor. Fallon is a place like no other with amazing talent and a legacy of building big, innovative, creative ideas,” said Baker. “Rocky has represented the best of Fallon. He’s been a great leader, and I couldn’t be more excited to take the reins and lead the agency through to the next chapter. With creativity at our core, we’re going to be as ambitious as ever, push boundaries, and continue embracing emerging platforms to deliver work that truly resonates in culture.”
Prior to joining Fallon six years ago, Baker held positions as creative director and art director at agencies including DDB and GSD&M, working with major brands such as McDonald’s, Southwest Airlines, and Wrigley. Her work has been recognized by... Read More