I’ll start with a truism: The most important product of an agency isn’t the work you ship, it’s the team you build.
This is true all over the business world. VCs will say “don’t invest in companies, invest in teams.” HR consultants will say “people don’t quit companies, they quit managers.” Marketing consultants will say “you aren’t hiring the agency, you’re hiring a team at the agency.” Saquon Barkley needed the right team to become Saquon Barkley.
It’s the team that counts, which is why we’ve always been laser focused on building the best team we can for our clients. Today, we take a huge jump forward, putting some of our best long-time Codeworders into new leadership roles where they can thrive.
Let’s start with our BFF Gabie Kur. Gabie’s been with Codeword off and on since 2013—we love a boomerang. I’ve spent the past decade-plus mentoring her, learning from her, and entrusting her with more and more responsibilities, and I can say I’ve never worked with anyone like her. Gabie’s a true Mary Sue, equally skilled at anticipating client needs, building teams of rock stars, driving new business, and growing her P&L. She’s just good at everything, it’s weird. Gabie’s been running our PR team for years, and I couldn’t be happier that she’s agreed to take the next step and become Codeword’s newest partner.
She’s stepping into a role we’ve created just for her. Gabie will be our first team member at Codeword who’s solely focused on growth and new business. If you think it’s weird that a company of 100 people didn’t have anyone focused on new business, we agree with you! That’s a big reason why we’re excited about this new role for Gabie.
The other reason: Gabie’s joining a partnership that has been together for quite a long time. Michael and I have been working side-by-side since 2009, and it’s a gift to be able to collaborate and grow and trust someone for so long. We finish each other’s sentences, predict each other’s behavior, know each other’s moods, and know the roles we each play. It’s time to shake that up. Two orbiting bodies are predictable, but add a third and anything can happen. (That’s a reference to The Three-Body Problem, for you sci-fi nerds). Especially when that third is a force of nature like Gabie.
In her new role, Gabie will be reporting to… well, no one. That’s what’s so exciting about it. Welcome to the partnership, Gabie.
With Gabie in a partner role, we’re also very happy to elevate Liv Allen to lead our PR team. Liv’s been a stabilizing force at Codeword for a long time, which is no easy thing when her focus areas are 1. The Media; 2. The Tech Industry; 3. The PR Industry. That’s a Bermuda Triangle of choppy waters to navigate, and many who try disappear. Liv handles it with a grace and intelligence that has made her a beloved partner to Codeword’s clients, and an incredible mentor for her teams. Liv will continue to report to Gabie, and will run our global PR operation out of San Francisco.
Shall we keep going?
Katy Donkin has been leading Codeword’s largest client team for the past eight years, and she’s done it so well, we demanded she come back when she left the agency to move to New Zealand. Like I said, we love a boomerang. She’s still in NZ, and still doing excellent work leading her team, so we’re putting Katy into an expanded role as head of client services. This is another new role for us, and it’s a growth area that can use the attention and expertise of a pro like Katy. If you’re already a client of Codeword’s, expect to see some noticeable changes and improvements in how we work together in 2025, thanks to Katy’s leadership.
And finally, we’re also restructuring our creative leadership, and naming Ted Brown to lead our editorial team. Editorial is our biggest department at Codeword, a collection of around 35 journalists, bloggers, editors, and copywriters. I believe it’s the closest any agency comes to having a true newsroom, and Ted is the perfect choice to lead it. He’s a writer’s writer; somehow he finds time to moonlight as a features writer for The New York Times, The New Yorker, and lots of other outlets. But he has this brilliant alter ego that has been on the marketing teams for some of the best tech and media companies in the world. It’s a rare combo in our industry, and we’re excited to see both sides of Ted come together to lead our editorial team. Ted will continue to report to me, taking over pretty much all of my day-to-day management responsibilities, so I can focus on driving client work as an individual contributor (the dream, let’s be real).
We have lots of reasons to be excited about Codeword in 2025, but the biggest one is the new leadership we have in place, with a mandate to build the best Codeword team for our clients. At an agency like Codeword, the team is the product, and we have full confidence that they’ll make us even better.
If you’re a client, a friend, or even a rando who wants to get to know Gabie, Liv, Katy, or Ted, please feel free to reach out to [email protected] and let us know.
