Former Goodby Silverstein & Partners executive Meghan Mullen has joined Zulu Alpha Kilo’s six-month old New York office as its first managing director.

“From the moment we met Meghan, it felt like a natural fit, having both grown up in the industry at passionately creative agencies, we have so much in common,” said Zulu Alpha Kilo’s Tim Gordon (pictured), who joined the agency as a partner in July after spending the previous 14 years at Droga5.

Mullen spent the last year at GS&P in New York as director of new business, but spent the 11 years before that at Wieden+Kennedy New York as an account director working on brands including Delta Air Lines, Duracell, and Target. She also had an interim stint as director of new business and supported the head of account management.

Mullen said she was attracted by ZAK’s reputation as a “fiercely independent” agency with a strong creative pedigree. “[It] naturally feels like the right home for me,” she said.

“We’re excited to have Meghan partner with Tim to build our agency’s presence in the U.S. with a strong focus on our creative output,” said founder and chief creative officer Zak Mroueh. “It’s been amazing seeing teams from Vancouver, Toronto and New York combine talents on some major global assignments.”

This has been an eventful year for ZAK, which also opened a Vancouver office in February, and won several international agency of the year honours from the likes of Ad Age, Campaign and the Epica Awards. It also performed well on the awards front, with its “Tough Turban” campaign for client Pfaff Harley-Davidson winning six Cannes Lions, including gold.