Durham digital marketing agency Climb & Conquer has announced two senior promotions – including a step up to head of department for the agency’s first ever employee.
Victor Stasiak, previously SEO performance manager, who leads on key client accounts like Make My House Green and Select Model Management, steps up to head of SEO. Stasiak was the agency’s first official hire when he joined as a digital marketing executive in 2022 when the agency was still a freelance consultancy.
He brought technical expertise across search, UX, Analytics and Conversion Rate Optimisation and is also responsible for Climb & Conquer’s own search marketing efforts. He will be leading a team of seven across technical and content, as well as growing the SEO team further in 2025 after a significant wave of new clients have joined in Q1 so far.
Stasiak said: “Stepping into bigger shoes, I’m excited to continue driving growth for Climb & Conquer and our clients. Hats off, and a massive thank you to Shane [Parkins, founder] for fostering my growth and letting me spread my wings in every role I’ve held at the company so far.
“My vision for 2025 is twofold: first, to level up my team, developing them into senior positions and providing broader strategic support for all our clients. Second, I’m beyond excited to focus more on the Climb and Conquer site and rankings to bolster our growth further. The goal? Nothing less than world domination!”
Also up for promotion, Blanaid May becomes head of PPC and Klaviyo, leading a team of four and overseeing campaigns totalling an average monthly ad spend of six figures.
Belfast-based May began her digital career 10 years ago working for the likes of Jellysmack, and joined the agency in 2023 as a Paid Search Executive. She was given the training to turn her generalist marketing skills into a passion for and advanced specialism in paid marketing. She later took Klaviyo services under her wing and has led campaigns for clients such as Mallet London and Orplex Group.
She said: “I’m buzzing to step into the role of head of PPC and Klaviyo. I’ve been lucky to have a brilliant team around me, and I know each of them has a brilliant career ahead of them. We’ve already done some incredible work in PPC, delivering amazing results for clients, and I know this is just the start.
“On the Klaviyo side, it’s a service we haven’t shouted about much yet, but the client results we’re seeing already are phenomenal, and I think we’re only scratching the surface of what’s possible. I’m excited to have just welcomed our first Klaviyo-centric member of the team, and from there, I look forward to building a more advanced service offering to help clients benefit from the full spectrum of our offering.”
Both promoted team members joined the agency as trainees, initially trained and mentored by founder Parkins. They were then promoted to manager and, later, team leads. The latest promotions cement their status as part of the agency’s senior leadership team as they take on more responsibility for team development and service delivery.
Parkins, added: “It’s massively rewarding to promote Victor and Blanaid to head of their respective departments. Both are extremely talented and have been vital to the success of the agency in a short period of time, and their commitment to helping others as they embark on their digital careers is really inspiring.
“It’s exactly what I had envisioned for Climb & Conquer when I started the agency, and I’m looking forward to seeing both seize every opportunity – and helping the team do the same – in their new roles.”
