Kirstie Buchanan leaves Reading Room for Rippleffect
Kirstie Buchanan has left her post as creative director of Reading Room to move to rival north west digital agency Rippleffect.
Buchanan finished at Reading Room yesterday and will join Liverpool-based Rippleffect as sales and marketing director in March.
She had been at Reading Room since 2004, when she helped open the hitherto London agency's Manchester office alongside one other employee, Jenni Allan.
The Manchester office has since grown to 25 staff and Buchanan was rewarded for her part in its progress by being promoted from marketing manager to creative director in February 2008.
She told The Drum: "I wasn't looking to move but I was offered an amazing opportunity to join Rippleffect's management team which was too good to turn down.
"Rippleffect has a brilliant client list and a strong entrepreneurial spirit which I love. After seven great years at Reading Room it felt like the right time to move on."
When Buchanan steps through her new agency's doors she will be greeted by a familiar face, for Rippleffect has also swooped for her Reading Room colleague James Sharpe.
For the last five years Sharpe has been a senior consultant on new business development at Reading Room. He took up the same role at his new employer this week.
Rippleffect was opened by managing director Ben Hatton in 1999 and has been owned by newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror since 2008.
Last week it was given a new contract by Everton FC to continue as the Premier League club's online agency.