The Hive Adds Dustin Rideout as Partner and Chief Strategy Officer

The Hive has announced the hiring of Dustin Rideout as its new chief strategy officer. Rideout will lead strategy across The Hive’s Canadian and U.S. operations, reuniting with recently appointed president and CEO Jared Stein, who took over the top position in March and also joined as a partner in the agency.

Rideout and Stein were partners at Sid Lee, working hand-in-hand on trailblazing platforms for the likes of the Toronto Raptors (“We The North”), Toronto Maple Leafs, Coca-Cola and Sport Chek.

“Dustin and I collaborated for years on culturally-defining work. It’s a wonderful gift to recapture that momentum at a time of growth and revitalization at The Hive,” says Stein.

“Dustin is an important new addition to our team and will become a critical partner in our mission to connect brands and consumers through meaningful and valuable encounters.”

Rideout brings more than 16 years of experience on both the client and agency sides of the business. He was most recently chief strategy officer at Juniper Park/TBWA and before that was CSO at McCann, Canada. Rideout was also head of brand and fan experience at MLSE, a partner at Sid Lee and strategy director at Leo Burnett in Toronto.

“Jared and I have always believed in creating ideas that satisfy people's preference for experience-led brand relationships,” explains Rideout. “The Hive has begun to codify this conviction through its 'Valuable Encounters' planning approach. It’s incredibly exciting for me personally to lead its expansion in both practice and scale.”

Adds Rideout: “It's also an incredibly exciting time to be joining an independent agency again. As clients look to build closer, more intertwined relationships between their agency and internal teams, The Hive’s unique offering is well positioned to meet our industry’s collaborative culture transformation.”

Rideout’s arrival at The Hive comes at a time of significant business growth for the agency’s offices in both Canada and the U.S.