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ThreeSixtyEight announced key leadership changes within the organization on Wednesday morning aimed to position the creative agency for its next phase of growth.
Co-founder Kenny Nguyen has shifted from CEO to board chair, with Chief Creative Officer Jeremy Beyt assuming the role of CEO. Both men are former Business Report Forty Under 40 honorees.
While Nguyen, Business Report’s 2019 Young Businessperson of the Year, will remain with the company as chair, he will also join his family’s real estate development company as executive vice president of operations. The company, led by Nguyen’s father, Kevin Nguyen, deals with both commercial and residential projects.
Through ThreeSixtyEight and the Assembly Required series, Nguyen has promoted Baton Rouge and pushed for it to become the creative capital of the South. He says his pivot to real estate development aligns with that mission.
“I love my city,” Nguyen says. “Development is a big part of helping the city. … I wanted to work with my father and learn the trade while he’s still healthy and spry. I wanted to learn and grow with him.”
Along with the changes for Nguyen and Beyt, a handful of longtime ThreeSixtyEight staff members were elevated to executive roles:
- Justin Hutchinson to vice president of growth
- Tara Lirette to chief product officer
- Nick Defelice to chief operating officer
- Kara Pitre to vice president of operations
- Phil Roberts to executive producer
Beyt says ThreeSixtyEight—which was recently named a national Best Place to Work—has a commitment to staying lean, so it prefers to promote existing staff rather than “create new layers” and hire additional people to fill roles.
“We’re elevating the team that has helped build this company over the past 15 years,” Beyt says. “With this leadership team in place, we are delivering the best brand, web and campaign work in our history while having tons of fun with new tech innovations that are reshaping how the work is done.”
Among the company’s most notable clients are video game Tomb Raider, Stephen Moret’s Strada, LUS Fiber, LSU and the Schmidt Ocean Institute, an organization mapping the ocean floor.
“ThreeSixtyEight has never just been a typical agency to me—it has always felt like something bigger than myself—a movement for our city, a community, and a testament to what’s possible when bold ideas meet the right people,” Nguyen says. “The strength of this team, their relentless creativity, and their commitment to pushing boundaries make me confident that the best days of TSE are still ahead.”
