Kitcatt Nohr Rebuilds Creative Team with Ten New Hires

Agency Kitcatt Nohr has boosted its creative department by hiring ten new creatives across various levels of seniority. All ten new hires were discovered at the creative open evening the agency held in February.

The event attracted 150 attendees, who had a week to work on a speculative brief, before presenting it to the agency’s creative directors. Prospective hires were asked to turn Nando's (a Kitcatt Nohr client) into a Valentine's destination. They did so with ideas including a Mando's man creche, a clever take on Tinder, and a Valentime's Machine for a lover's do-over.

The new hires come from a diverse range of backgrounds. One new recruit, Kirk Flash, was most recently a continuity announcer at Channel 4, while other hires come from agencies like VCCP, or straight from university. They will all report to Executive Creative Director Ben Golik. 

The hires follow a period of change at Kitcatt Nohr. In December, two of its founding partners, Marc Nohr and Jeremy Shaw, left the agency, and Vonnie Alexander, a founding partner of the agency, was promoted to Managing Director, with promotions for Ben Golik to Executive Creative Director and Andrew Purdy to Head of Operations. 

In January, the agency dropped ‘Digitas’ from its name to become Kitcatt Nohr. The agency has now moved to Brick Lane, opposite global marketing and technology agency DigitasLBi.

Kitcatt Nohr’s client roster has also experienced a significant shuffle in the last 12 months. Two long-standing clients - John Lewis and Waitrose – were both lost in 2013 and were replaced with AXA, Sky, Dogs Trust and Nando’s. 

Ben Golik, Executive Creative Director, said: "I was not looking for 9-to-5 creatives. Jake prints T -shirts. Kirk's a talented filmmaker. These are exciting people who are leading creative lives."

The new starters are:

Jake Fenton, Art Director, Intern

Jake won a silver DMA for a Nissan idea he had while he was still a student, and designs and prints his own t-shirts. His most recent role was at VCCP.

Kirk Flash, Junior Copywriter

Kirk Flash joins from Channel 4, where he was a continuity announcer. Kirk has had spells at Karmarama and their PR agency, Kream, as a copywriter.

Jenny McDonald and Matt Slee, Junior Copywriter and Art Director

Jenny and Matt have been on placements for the past year at TBWA\, Inferno and Forever Beta. They join the agency in their first full-time roles. 

Jo Jephcott and Gemma Galvin, Copywriter and Art Director

Jo and Gemma are reunited, after working together as grads before splitting up. Jo joins the agency from TBWA\ and Gem from Marsh UK Insurance, where she was a marketing executive.

Ellie Lynch and Beth Kwaterski, Copywriter and Art Director 

Ellie and Beth join the agency from VCCP where they’ve been working for the last 18 months, working across the agencies accounts such as O2, Carling and Knorr.

Rob Hainsworth and Michelle Pegg, Copywriter and Art Director

Rob and Michelle have joined Kitcatt Nohr from The Communications Agency, where they’ve been for the last three years. Rob was previously at Ogilvy and Leo Burnett, whilst Michelle had spent 2 years at TMP.