The Pistol has added two new hires to its senior team as it continues to experience significant business growth.
Digital specialist Emilia Chambers has been appointed head of strategy, while former The Pistol head of development Sarafraz Johl rejoins the business as head of technology.
Chambers brings more than 11 years of digital experience in the media industry in Australia and the UK to the digital solutions media agency, working across a range of client verticals, including FMCG, retail and travel. She comes to The Pistol from Carat, Australia, where she was head of digital for the Victorian team. She also spent nearly five years at iProspect, working as a client partner and digital director in Australia, and an account director in the UK.
Prior to that, Chambers held digital account manager roles at marketing agency Vizeum and Aegis Media in the UK.
Johl brings more than two decades of development experience across three countries to his new role, having worked in the UK, India, and Australia. Johl returns to The Pistol after work on its retail media platform Zitcha. Johl has also worked in senior developer roles at Motorola, the Australian Council for Educational Research, and Siebel.
Commenting on both appointments, The Pistol CEO, Jamie Nosworthy, said: “This is a time of great growth and expansion for our agency, and I’m thrilled to be adding new members to our team. Both Emilia and Johl bring a wealth of knowledge in their respective spaces to the business, along with a passion to deliver, and strong leadership skills to drive our business forward.
“Emilia is well-known for her enthusiasm for all things digital – as a leader in this space, she understands the complexity and ever-changing nature of the digital landscape can be challenging, and prides herself on supporting her colleagues and clients in navigating the digital realm.
“Johl was instrumental in the development of our retail media platform Zitcha, and we’re excited to have him as part of the core The Pistol team – he brings an unparalleled understanding of how to maximise retail assets to accelerate growth, and a passion for leading with tech.”
Chambers said of her appointment: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Pistol team at such an exciting time for the business. I’m looking forward to showing our clients the value of digital media, and how it can be used to expand and support the efforts of other channels to deliver a holistic marketing message.”
Johl added: “I’ve always been enthusiastic about The Pistol – I love that the agency is a leader in digital advertising, but hasn’t lost its start-up vibe, and ‘let’s-get-it-done’ attitude. While tech has been the enabler, the team and culture has been the fuel propelling the growth. As the digital landscape changes, so will tech – it’s a great time for a product fanatic like me to be part of the team and help us stay ahead of the game.”
Chambers and Johls’ appointments come on the back of a busy period for The Pistol, including several new client wins (Riparide, Vitasoy and DECJUBA) and substantial growth across the business – media billables grew 8% in 2022, primarily driven by increased investment from its clients across paid search, programmatic and TikTok.
Both appointments are effective immediately.
See also: The Pistol delivers revenue results for DECJUBA online and in-store
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Top image: Emilia Chambers and Sarafraz Johl