Andrew Parsons is continuing his rise within the creative ranks of Toronto agency Church+State, with a promotion to creative director. Parsons, who joined the agency in 2019, was previously creative group head, a role he was promoted into in 2020.

“Each time we’ve given Andrew more responsibility, he has really flourished and so have the people around him,” said agency founder Ron Tite. “He’s a brilliant creative, wonderful mentor, trusted client advisor, and respected colleague. I’m excited for him and excited for us.”

Parsons’ career also includes stints as a copywriter with Grip, Red Lion, Rethink, and Publicis.

The agency has made a series of hires and promotions amidst a wave of new assignments that include ongoing social work for Columbia Lab’s over-the-counter acne treatment product Benzagel and its lozenge brand Bradasol, as well brand consulting for the wellness booking app FitSwoop, and purpose-focused work for Meridian.

The agency is also doing undisclosed work for Google.

The agency also announced that it has promoted Ophelie Zalcmanis-Lai to senior strategist. The journalism school graduate has worked in a variety of strategy roles, and has also led the agency’s personal branding practice, Unison.

And after her strong performance on the Walmart account, Abbie Jack has been promoted to account supervisor. Before joining Church+State, Jack was an account executive at Zeno Group.

The agency has also added art director Fin Christoforidis, writer Kerrin Jalandra, and project manager Annabel Okeya to its ranks, pushing its total staff count to 25 people.