Jonathan Guillen and Nikki Black have joined Culver City, Calif.-based creative marketing agency Compadre as creative director and associate creative director, respectively. Both Guillen and Black have previously collaborated with Compadre Executive Creative Director Patrick Jones in the past. All three come from marketing agency Known.

“Jonathan and Nikki are next-level creatives who have defined their careers around growth and innovation,” says Robert Blatchford, co-president of Compadre, in a statement. “They bring unparalleled thinking and creativity to everything they touch, with a penchant for generating new ideas, over and over. As we set our sights on what true innovation looks like for brands, they’re the x-factors we’ve been looking for to make it all possible. I’ve been doing this for a long time now and continue to be impressed by talent like Jonathan and Nikki who will really push what Compadre does to the next frontier.”

At Known, Guillen was associate creative director working with such brands as AMC, Audible, CNN, HBO Max, Netflix and Spotify. Prior to that, he served as art director and then associate creative director at PXL Agency, working on such brands as 20th Century Fox, Annapurna Pictures, FX, MGM, Paramount and Universal Pictures.

Guillen started out of art school as senior designer at R&R Partners, working with such clients as Boeing, Warner Bros., and Western Digital, and then moved on to Wonderful Agency, which oversees such brands as Fiji Water, Pom Wonderful, Wonderful Pistachios and Teleflora, to serve as art director.

“Great creative is dictated by great leadership,” said Guillen in a statement. “I learned this early on in my career, having had mentors who not only taught me good design thinking but also empowered me with a bigger stake in the creative, even at a junior level. I look forward to taking the same approach leading creative teams at Compadre.”

Black also comes from Known, where they started as senior engagement specialist before being promoted to associate creative director of copy. At Known, Black oversaw projects for Netflix, HBO Max and DC Entertainment.

Prior to that, Black served as social media manager for horror and genre filmmaker Blumhouse Productions and worked in a digital and social role for Mythical Entertainment. Black got their start at Trailer Park, where they were a communications associate working in public relations.

“When I first saw Compadre’s work, I was impressed by how of-the-moment and trendy—but not cheesy—it was,” Black said, also in a statement. “In other places, there can be a dilution of creative that happens up the chain of command. I’m excited to be working in Compadre’s boutique space where I’ll have more room to grow creatively.”

Tags: career moves compadre creative director jonathan guillen nikki black


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