Stagwell marketing agency Gale has promoted Andrew Noel to Global CEO and Sophia Zhang to CEO North America.  

The promotions follow last month’s internal announcement that Founding CEO Brad Simms is retiring, the agency said.  

Noel, also one of the agency’s founders, was previously managing director. Zhang joined the agency in 2016 as an account director and was named a managing partner in 2020. 

“When a group of friends and I co-founded Gale back in 2014, we knew we were building something unique,” Noel, wrote on LinkedIn. “Our way of working was intentionally shaped to push boundaries, always staying ahead of the industry’s next big thing.” 
 
“Our first decade has truly been something special, and I couldn’t be more excited to step into the Global CEO role, with the exceptional Sophia Zhang as our new CEO of North America, as we look ahead to the next ten.” 

Separately Noel credited Simms with being “integral to Gale’s success and we wish him well in this next chapter.” 

In late 2022 Simms took on the additional role of CEO of sibling agency CPB. The agency rebranded to Crispin last year and appointed Maggie Malek CEO North America. Simms relinquished his Crispin duties in January 2024 to again focus fulltime leading Gale.