Zulu Alpha Kilo Names Dean Lee and Michael Mayes as ECDs in Vancouver

Last month, Zulu Alpha Kilo officially launched its new Western Canadian office in Vancouver. Today, after an extensive search, they’ve announced the addition of Dean Lee and Michael Mayes as its new executive creative director team to lead the office. Lee and Mayes are two of Canada’s most talented and well-respected creatives and are both highly sought-after creative fixtures of the local Vancouver creative community.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have Dean and Michael join the team to lead our Vancouver office,” says Agency founder & CCO Zak Mroueh. “I’ve been following Dean’s career for years and have worked closely with Michael at Zulu and TAXI. They are two exceptional creative talents, who also happen to be very nice people. I’m looking forward to the energy they’ll bring to our team and the impact they’ll have on our clients.”

An art director by trade, Dean Lee was most recently ECD at DDB Vancouver, where he had a stellar 25-year creative track record going back to the days when it was Palmer Jarvis. During his time at the agency, he worked with brands including McDonald’s, Pepsi Co, SunRype, Labatt, Destination Canada, Rocky Mountaineer, BC Lottery Corporation, BCAA, BC Hydro, TELUS, Pacific Blue Cross, BC Dairy, and helped launch Netflix in Canada.

Historically, Lee has been ranked as one of Canada’s leading creatives according to Strategy Magazine, including top honours for art direction. His work has been recognized at national and international advertising shows including Cannes, The One Show, Communication Arts, The Clios, D&AD, London International Awards and Marketing Awards. Dean also co-chairs The James Lee Foundation to help aspiring creative talent break into the advertising world.

“I’ve admired the creative work Zulu Alpha Kilo has been producing for years,” said Lee, “The work is thoughtful, strategically smart, and garnering a lot of attention for their clients. I’m excited to bring Zulu’s high-calibre of creativity to Western Canada.”

Originally from Calgary, writer and creative director, Michael Mayes worked with Mroueh previously at TAXI in Toronto, creating campaigns for brands including WestJet, The Movie Network, Williams Sonoma, Viagra, Nike, Molson, and launching MINI across Canada. The two also worked together to establish TAXI Vancouver, where Mayes was its first CD and helped grow the office from zero to 25 people, working on brands including TELUS, Vancouver Aquarium, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Meinhardt Fine Foods, and Crofton House School.

Along the way, Mayes’ work has been recognized internationally at Cannes, The One Show, London International Advertising Awards, and the Marketing Awards to name a few. For the past decade, he has been one of the most highly respected freelancers for several local Vancouver agencies and worked with Lee previously at DDB when he first arrived in Vancouver in 2005. In 2013, Mayes wrote his first children's book, Which Way Back? for BC's Knowledge Network which became the Number 1 Children’s Title on the BC Bestsellers list.

"Joining a creative powerhouse like Zulu Alpha Kilo was a no-brainer for me,” Mayes said, “I’m looking forward to partnering with Dean and working with the whole gang at Zulu to help build a stellar team in my favourite part of the country.” 

Zulu will be employing the team’s talents in Vancouver for local, regional, and national work. Zulu’s Western-based clients already include a2 Milk, Enmax, plus other local brands to be announced. Zulu also continues to service Subaru Canada’s Western regions. 

This news just adds to the strong momentum for the independent shop over the past six months. Internationally, the shop was anointed Agency of the year by UK’s The Drum, Independent Agency of the Year at the Epica awards, Agency of the Year at Kinsale Sharks and Ad Age International Small agency of the year recognition for the third time. Locally, Zulu won silver at strategy’s AOY competition in November 2021. This past December, the New York Festival’s AME Report ranked Zulu as the number one agency worldwide for the effectiveness of their creative work. 

More news will be released soon regarding additional hires and client wins for the new office.