Creative Communications agency Top Banana has announced the appointment of Jemma Peers as managing director.

Peers, who has worked at the agency for almost five years, most recently as commercial director, has over 20 years industry experience and an excellent reputation for relationship building, high performance and team leadership.

As managing director, she will be responsible for the future development of the agency, working closely with the now eight strong leadership team. This is the first time the business has appointed an MD, after founder and CEO Richard Bridge led the company for 21 years.

Whilst remaining CEO of Top Banana, Bridge will support Peers in her new role but become more focused on the agency’s growing client portfolio and supporting the wider team.

Bridge commented: “Whilst like many businesses we have been through a tumultuous 12 months, the leadership team and I saw this as a great opportunity to stop and revaluate the business. Becoming managing director and taking over the day to day running of the business has always been part of Jemma’s growth and development plan and we felt like now was the right time for her take the reins. As a business we were really conscious not to let the pandemic stop people’s development and career goals, so for us to make these changes and celebrate our people feels extra special. Jemma’s incredibly strong knowledge and experience will be vital as we continue our ambitious plans to grow and develop in the future.”

Peers added: “Having already spent five years at Top Banana, I have not only built an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the business but have built great relationships with the team, which is so important as a leader. Top B is known for their family feel and brilliant culture and I will strive to continue that as we grow in the future. I have a great team behind me, and I am so proud of all their hard work and resilience throughout the past 12 months. It’s been a challenging time, but as we were quick to adapt and diversify early last year, we truly feel like we’ve entered an exciting new chapter and I’m looking forward to driving the business forward in 2021 and beyond.”