Zach Hill is leaving CJRW to become the CEO of Few while Chris Ho (inset) will essentially take over Hill's duties as CJRW's director of digital services.
In a shuffle of central Arkansas marketing professionals, CJRW’s director of digital services is departing to become CEO of the Few design and development agency, and GWL Advertising’s digital account manager is shifting downtown to take his place.
Zack Hill, who joined CJRW of Little Rock in 2013 and became a vice president and the firm’s digital chief two years later, will run Few while its current chief executive, co-founder David Hudson, narrows his focus as chief technology officer. Chris Ho, a two-decade digital veteran, is leaving Little Rock’s GWL essentially to replace Hill, becoming CJRW’s director of digital and interactive services.
Hill, Ho and Hudson confirmed the moves late Monday, and CJRW President Jill Joslin said Ho had been on the firm’s radar since it learned that Hill was departing.
“Because we had worked with Chris Ho previously when we outsourced some of those services, he was at the top of our list,” Joslin told Arkansas Business.
Ho, once an interactive designer at the Sells/Clark firm and interactive director of the Allison Agency, rose to greater prominence as account management director at Mass Enthusiasm, led by Chris McMullin. That agency was acquired early this year by Gary Lay’s GWL Advertising. When McMullin left GWL’s digital arm in July, Lay praised Ho as the “top guy from the digital aspect.”
Ho said leaving GWL was a difficult decision, and that the firm was a great place to work, with a growing interactive staff. “I want people to know that after a lot of thought, this was just an opportunity that I couldn’t ignore.”
Ho, who is scheduled to start at CJRW on Sept. 5, is a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas.
“Chris’ vast industry knowledge and insight into the future of the digital world made the decision [to hire him] fairly easy,” Joslin said.
Hill, 33, said he was attracted to Few, which left its offices at Center and Sixth streets in Little Rock last year for a co-working space at the Innovation Hub on East Broadway in North Little Rock, largely because it has an “approach to internal development that is very unique as opposed to normal agency world.” He added that Few offered an attractive incentive package, and that the job shift did not involve any financial investment in the agency.
Hudson, who has doubled as Few’s CEO and chief technology officer since its inception three years ago, said the startup is growing and on track to post revenue of “well over $1 million this year.” He said he and co-founder Arlton Lowry had been looking for a “business guy” to take over as CEO. “We’ve both been wearing a lot of hats, and I decided to peel off some responsibilities,” he said.
“We’ve been hiring, adding a financial officer and a project manager, and we’ve reached a size where we need a CTO. I’m a nerd first, and technology is what I love, so instead of hiring a CTO, Arlton agreed that I could focus on that position and that we’d hire a CEO. We had a list of about a dozen people, but we knew that Zack would be our guy if he was available.” He added that he and Lowry are avid travelers, and that Few’s staff had just returned from a company trip to Puerto Rico.
Hill said he had known Hudson and Lowry, Few’s chief creative officer, through his time at CJRW and his four years at Flex360, Arkansas Business Publishing Group’s web development arm, where he managed interactive projects and new business relations. A graduate of Arkansas State University, he also brings experience “in the startup scene in both central and northwest Arkansas,” according to a news release from Few.
“David and Arlton understand what I bring to the table, and I appreciate and trust what they bring to the table,” Hill said. “I think my background in e-commerce businesses, and in the startup arena and the agency world, will be an asset. Few has many clients in partnership with ad agencies, and I know what agency expectations are, as well as what we can do to help ad agencies achieve success for clients.”
He will start at Few on Monday.
Lay said that GWL Advertising firm is moving “full-speed ahead” and that a new hire is coming soon to take over some of Ho’s responsibilities.
“We’ve actually hired two additional people, but we’re not able to make it public right now. It’s not the case that people are defecting from GWL; Chris just recognized that this is an opportunity for him to run a department, and I’ve always encouraged employees to seize opportunities that are right for their advancement,” Lay said. “We also have a great relationship with CJRW. In fact, Shelby and Wayne Woods and I go back for years. We were fraternity brothers.”
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