From the Ashes: How Thinkingbox Is Expanding Operations with The Mill’s Former Talent

Earlier this month, some exciting news came from experience creative agency Thinkingbox when it was announced that it, alongside its animation, motion, and live-action company, The Heist, had made some crucial creative and production hires from now-closed The Mill. With the likes of Patrick Coleman, Blake Nickle, Jason Esser and Justin Inman – alongside their teams – coming aboard across both businesses, this move has sent both a hopeful message in the wake of the shocking Technicolor news earlier this year, but has also presented some exciting possibilities for the future.

Specifically, not only does the arrival of this talent deepen creative and production capabilities across all Thinkingbox studios (Los Angeles, New York, Salt Lake City, Vancouver, Toronto, and Mexico City), but this investment into new personnel, leadership and experience has also warranted the opening of a new Chicago office for The Heist. A decision which reinforces CEO Amir Sahba’s longstanding desire to begin working with the local brands the city has to offer, it highlights Thinkingbox’s desire to expand its offering and outreach across the year – something worth keeping an eye on.

To learn more about how these business moves came together, and what the implications are for the company, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with Amir for a chat.

LBB> Amir, congratulations on all the big business moves of late! How are you feeling right now, and broadly speaking, what are sentiments like, both at Thinkingbox and The Heist?

Amir> We are excited and eager to have the team growing, and can’t wait for all the new projects we have won recently to go live. I believe the work that is being produced right now will create even greater excitement about our studios and amazing talent.

LBB> From the outset, why was signing former The Mill talent an avenue you wanted to pursue, and what will this allow both businesses to do across the North American market?

Amir> Design and animation has always been a growth offering for us. In fact, we saw a 40% increase in work from 2023 to 2024. Therefore, it was an easy decision when it came time to take this opportunity to grow our design and animation team.

Creative storytelling is perhaps more important than ever for brands. We are truly a production-led agency that focuses on scale delivery. Therefore, increasing our firepower in an offer that is most in demand by our client was a right move for us.

LBB> Of course, actually pulling something like this off in a timely fashion wouldn’t be a small task. Can you share some insight into how you pulled this off logistically?

Amir> It’s been a wild few weeks. We have done four acquisitions during that last five years, and each has taken three to six months to complete. This, although not a standard acquisition, took three weeks. Therefore, to say it was wild is an understatement, but it was possible because the amazing team we onboarded was so like-minded. They believe in strong work and a talented team. This was what we have built our shop on, so when we started talking to each other, it felt like we'd been working together for 10 years.

All in all, it was a crazy move, and our amazing executive team really showed their skills in processing, decision making, and the amazing focus they had, to bring this to life.

LBB> Let’s talk a bit more about the talent. Some big names moving to The Heist are Patrick Coleman and Blake Nickle. What made these the right people to lead this new era, and what have the early collaborations been like?

Amir> They all have the same mindset as our shop. They believe in their craft and believe in the making. That is who we are, so when the thinking is aligned, it makes the fit easy.

We were also lucky that these amazing talent leaders felt our studio is going to give them the space to continue to build their craft and provide a healthy path for their team to develop their careers.

LBB> You underscored that these moves also represent your investment in not only the future of storytelling, but the notion that talent is the driving force behind innovation. Why are these points of such importance to Thinkingbox?

Amir> Those principles guide how we grow and help push us to explore and succeed in new mediums, technologies, and creative approaches that work to truly engage audiences. None of it happens without the right team, and in today’s fast-evolving landscape, it’s their imagination and expertise that turn bold ideas into breakthrough experiences.

With new creative leaders on board who share our passion, we’re doubling down by encouraging collaboration, launching cross-office workshops, and blending long-time talent with fresh perspectives. The energy shift is real, and we know that by supporting and inspiring our people, they’ll continue to push boundaries and shape the future of Thinkingbox.

LBB> Another big piece of news is that you’ve opened a new Chicago office to support the continued growth of both businesses. Why was it the right city to expand to, and how are operations going thus far?

Amir> We were always interested in Chicago, both from a talent point of view, and also because of the amazing brands that are based in that city. The fact that the new team and leadership are all based out of Chicago made this even more exciting for us. There are some amazing creative minds in Chicago, and we are heavily invested in growing our headcount in that city.

LBB> Broadly speaking, as a company with a presence in both Canada and the US, what are the implications for Thinkingbox’s overall North American offerings with these recent moves? What can people in each of these markets expect?

Amir> These recent moves have definitely supercharged our North American presence. While we’ve already had a strong connection and process between our Canadian and US teams, the addition of new talent and our Chicago office has expanded what we can do and how we can do it. Whether a campaign starts in Toronto or Chicago, it now benefits from the same imaginative thinking and local insight that a North American integrated team gets you, plus a more robust set of capabilities. These shifts aren’t just beneficial from an operational point of view – they will allow us to tap into even more creative networks, and the results will show in the work.

LBB> Finally, you’ve also teased more updates down the line, as well as the fact that discussions with the former The Mill talent aren’t over. Can you give us any hints as to what we can expect in the future?

Amir> We are still in the process of finalising another dozen or so former The Mill team members to join us. These hires are primarily in Europe, so if we are able to finalise them all in the coming weeks, we will be expanding both The Heist and Thinkingbox in Europe. That is as much as I can share at this point!