GHO has appointed Hamish Stewart as an equity partner in the business. He joins GHO’s four existing partners to round out the diversity of experience offered by the agency across research, strategy, design, digital and creative marketing.
At GHO, direct ownership by the leadership team is seen as an essential part of delivering a strong and committed independent offering. As GHO managing director Eithne McSwiney explained, “businesses face a lot of uncertainty. They need direct relationships with senior people who are focused on the individual needs of their business.”
“In our view, equity ownership is critical in ensuring our clients are working with people they can trust and who are committed to their long-term success. We have a vested interest in it.”
Stewart is a globally-awarded creative, recognised at all major shows, including D&D, Cannes Lions, One Show, AdFest and Spikes Asia. With stints at CHE Proximity, R/GA Sydney and M&C Saatchi, he has a strong background in digital and customer experience.
Most recently, he was Australia’s judge on the Mobile, Digital and Digital Craft jury at AdFest, has been national Chair of Judges in Digital at AWARD, and has twice been a national lecturer in Digital at AWARD School.
On his new role, Stewart said, “Dan Wieden says that ‘independence is everything’ and having joined GHO I can see why.”
“The agency’s passion for helping clients turn uncertainty into certainty on their thorniest problems, with a genuinely unique approach, is hugely appealing. Eithne and the existing partners have built a fantastic team, and it’s exciting to partner with them on the next phase of the business.”
The opportunity for independent agencies has never been stronger as larger, less agile service offerings struggle to provide the diversity, flexibility, and speed businesses are looking for.
GHO has leveraged this over the past three years with the double-digit growth year on year, a range of new clients, and the successful launch of new services like GHO CoLab.
Completing the leadership team are (pictured left-right) James Legge, strategy partner; Ryan Chao, design partner; Eithne McSwiney, managing director; and Peter Hosking, founder/director. Hamish Stewart is pictured far right.
