Agency Makes Unconventional Hire
G.T. “Toby” Stansell has been named CEO of Cargo, a marketing solutions and services company. The appointment of Mr. Stansell is a departure from the typical advertising agency hire, as he brings into this role industry experience rather than an agency background.
Toby Stansell, CEO, Cargo
“From my perspective, agencies can’t just be about marketing anymore,” says Mr. Stansell. “We can’t just take whatever products or services our customers offer and simply promote them to the markets they are trying to reach — we must understand our clients’ businesses. Ultimately, we have to effectively apply both industry experience and marketing expertise to improve our customers’ market visibility and sales effectiveness.”
Scott Brand, one of Cargo’s co-owners added, “Toby’s deep experience across several of Cargo’s target industries puts us in the unique position to address a broader set of client challenges and opportunities. Rather than hire a career marketing leader, we found someone who will employ a counterintuitive and disruptive marketing approach that provides our clients and Cargo a real competitive advantage.”
Before accepting the CEO position at Cargo, Mr. Stansell was a Principal with Cherry Bekaert Digital Advisory, the technology arm of one of the 30 largest CPA firms in the U.S. At Cherry Bekaert, he built a client base across a mix of manufacturing, distribution, and service companies.
Prior to Cherry Bekaert, Mr. Stansell served as President of Acumen I.T., LLC, an IT Managed Service Provider. While there, he mobilized the company to take advantage of the growing demand for cloud and cybersecurity services.
Before joining Acumen I.T., Mr. Stansell held the position of president of OOBE, a successful uniform provider to several well-known consumer-facing brands. Earlier in his career, Mr. Stansell served in sales and marketing leadership positions at Factory Logic; Western Data Systems; IBM; and Jobscope Corporation.
With offices in Greenville, SC and Toronto, Canada, the 55-employee Cargo agency has been delivering advertising and marketing solutions and services to clients since its founding in 2006. The agency specializes in connecting big brands with medium- to small-business customers, and services some of the world’s largest and best-known companies. Cargo was named one of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies by Inc. Magazine in 2020.