Canada’s fastest-growing independent agency opens first US location fueled by unprecedented growth and US opportunities.
NEW YORK, July 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ – Courage, Canada’s fastest-growing independent creative agency, announced today it has opened its first location outside of Canada.
On their way to opening the New York office, Courage has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years, winning accounts from global brands such as KFC, KitKat, Nescafe, Sephora, PlayStation, and many more. This growth has been accompanied by both global and local recognition for the agency’s creative output. In the past 12 months alone, Courage brought home 6 Cannes Lions and was named Agency of the Year at the Sports Clios, Campaign’s Canadian Creative Agency of the Year, and Ad Age International Standout Agency.
Courage New York will be helmed by newly appointed Partners and Executive Creative Directors Steve Horn and Mina Mikhael, and Partner & Managing Director Pauline Tastenhoye.
Steve and Mina join Courage from Translation, where they led the creative department and worked on projects for brands including the NBA, Meta, AT&T, Cadillac Formula 1 Team, Chase, PlayStation, PUMA, and the Big 12 Conference. In their time at Translation, the duo has received numerous industry accolades including 8 Emmy nominations and 2 wins for their work on the NBA, League of the Year Sport Clio honors for the NBA, and led new business wins, including this year’s Super Bowl campaign for Cadillac F1.
Prior to their pairing, Mina previously led creative for adidas at Johannes Leonardo, Fox Sports at Wieden+Kennedy, and has become known for seamlessly blending pop culture with sport. Steve hails from Madison, Wisconsin, working locally before moving to New York by way of Chicago, where he became known for his role creating the Titanium Lion-winning “You Love Me” for Beats by Dre.
“From the very first conversation we had with Joel and Dhaval, it was clear that we saw eye-to-eye on what makes an agency where great people want to make great work,” said Steve Horn. “If you rally around people-first and seek out clients who you genuinely like working with, amazing things can happen. It sounds overly simple, but so many things in our industry seem to get in the way of that easy equation.”
“We were also immediately drawn to the level of craft and high bar for creative that the Toronto and Montreal offices have already established,” said Mina Mikhael. “From the whip-smart AirTransat work, and the Clio Sports sweeping Kyle F***** Connor work, to the star-studded Skip The Dishes work with Jon Hamm and Seth Rogan, we saw pieces that we resonate with as creatives and want to put our own stamp on in the New York office.”
Steve and Mina will be joined by Pauline Tastenhoye, who was a driving force behind the rapid growth of the Tombras New York office. As Managing Director, she led integrated teams across media and creative to deliver cohesive, performance-driven solutions at scale. Pauline has also worked at world-renowned, award-winning New York agencies including Droga5 and Havas.
“The best kind of growth is driven by compelling events, and there’s nothing more compelling than finding people of the caliber that Pauline, Steve and Mina represent. Not just professionally, but also as humans we enjoy talking about ideas, business and life with. Courage NY is an exciting new chapter in our journey and we can’t wait for what’s ahead” said Dhaval Bhatt, Founder and Global Co-Chief Creative Officer, Courage Inc.
The team will begin work on Courage’s existing US mandates out of their lower Manhattan office, and is optimistic that this announcement will fuel further momentum for the agency.
About Courage
Headquartered in Toronto, creative shop Courage Inc. has become one of the fastest-growing independent ad agencies in Canada’s history. Founded in 2022, Courage has created internationally celebrated work for a number of iconic brands, including KFC, KitKat, Nescafé, CIBC, and more. Through human-to-human connection and boundary-testing creativity, the agency’s guiding mission is to help every partnering brand find their courage.
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SOURCE Courage Inc.
