Vancouver-based digital consultancy Major Tom is hoping the third time’s a charm in its efforts to expand across Canada.
The boutique marketing firm has named managing partner Lyn Bryan as its new CEO, while founding partner and former president Chris Breikss departs Vancouver to oversee the Toronto office. Partner and vice-president Miles Sellyn takes over as president.
Major Tom had launched offices in Toronto twice before beginning in 2011, however, Breikss said those initial efforts were not successful.
The third attempt came in 2014 and the Toronto office has since expanded to 18 workers with a goal to double the headcount within a year.
“My purpose now is to grow and scale that business, find a new office for us, probably promote some new leadership from within and then look at Toronto as our long-term vision towards a new headquarters,” Breikss said.
Despite the shifting focus eastward, Breikss said Major Tom will likely remain based in Vancouver for another decade.
Bolstering the Toronto footprint is part of a strategy to expand business and boost revenue, he said.
“Vancouver is feeling a bit constricted with the talent pool because a lot of business is booming in the tech sector. The economy is strong, there’s a lot of companies and businesses hiring,” Breikss said.
“We come to Toronto and there’s a talent pool that’s just 20 times greater. It would make sense that growth would happen here because there’s access to more Canadian head offices.”
Major Tom was previously known as 6S Marketing and Drive Digital before the sister agencies merged over the summer to form the new entity.
The firm paid $7.6 million for its new 10,000-square-foot space at 548 Beatty St., while renovations added another $800,000 to the final price tag.
“We now are looking at buying an office in Toronto so we now have this commercial real estate division of the company,” Breikss said.
Fellow founding partner John Blown also remains with Major Tom amid the senior leadership reshuffle.
He is overseeing the commercial real estate side of the business.
Breikss said annual revenue of $13 million is on the horizon — a benchmark he believes will make it easier for banks to make sizeable loans for potential acquisitions.
But don’t expect Major Tom to become the target of an acquisition.
“These big holding companies now have a bunch of agencies that are supposed to work together but they’re not working together that well. They’re still fighting for budget, they’re fighting for strategy,” Breikss said.
“If we can run as an independent we can be more nimble, more boutique-like, in that we’re not having puppet strings pulled by a larger entity.”
