UPSTREAM - Key Persons

Brian Summers

Job Titles:
  • Designer
  • Production Manager
Brian is the swiss army knives of swiss army knives and an award-winning designer with 15+ years of experience in the advertising industry.

Gareth Mitton

Job Titles:
  • Creative Director
If you left Gareth alone in a room, he would spend all day coming up with ideas and writing things; a fact he's put to good use in his 20+ year career. A key Upstream freelancer since the early 2010s, Gareth is now our Creative Director and lead writer. Outside the office, Gareth can be found walking his rescue beagle, Duke; playing soccer (he's from England - it's a rule); publishing the occasional novel; or doing a downward dog (he's a certified yoga teacher!)

Joe Coffey - Chief Strategy Officer

Job Titles:
  • Owner
  • Strategy Director
Joe co-founded Upstream in 2006 at the ripe age of 22 while studying Business Commerce at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Joe's core strength is leading the development of brand and marketing strategies for clients. An anecdote that best sums up Joe's zest for bold marketing is the time he slipped Prince Charles his business card and lived to tell the tale.

Martha Penney

Job Titles:
  • Office Manager
Martha is a highly dedicated and exceptionally organized office manager, diligently ensuring the seamless operation of Upstream. With a proven track record in bookkeeping and accounting at multinational corporations, her expertise has been instrumental in Upstream's continued success.

Paul Coffey

Job Titles:
  • Project Manager
  • Account Manager With
Paul is an Account Manager with Upstream and responsible for ensuring projects are completed on-time and on-budget. Paul honed his skills and ability to manage a lot of moving parts working as a Digital Product Owner at Johnson Insurance, a national insurance company. Paul is also an aspiring baller who hasn't given up on his dream to be a starting guard for the Toronto Raptors.

Stephanie Boutilier Art

Job Titles:
  • Director
Upstream's Art Director is the epitome of "well rounded". Stephanie started out working for a newspaper in 2007 before a stint at a full-service ad agency. From there, she spent five years in web design, then another five with an architectural and interior design firm.

Vaishal Shah

Job Titles:
  • Growth Strategist
  • Strategist
Vaishal is a gifted strategist with unique experience in market research, communication strategies development, and business growth. Vaishal's experience working for multi-national companies doing international marketing and his MBA training have proven to be valuable additions to our team that have helped elevate the business and academic fidelity of our marketing strategies for clients. Vaishal loves exploring Newfoundland's great outdoors and offroading in his 2007 Corolla.