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Hale to the Y&R chief

Y&R New Zealand got some good news today when it found out it had won a bronze lion at Cannes for the MetService's Weather to Wake app. And it's got some more good news to announce: the appointment of experienced advertising campaigner Abbe Hale as general manager. 

A born and raised New Zealander, Hale has spent the majority of her 16-year career in London and New York. Following five years with BBH London, Hale moved to New York to join Anomaly before rejoining BBH in New York. She was appointed to the BBH Board in 2011 and held the position of head of account management until earlier this year.

She brings extensive international experience back to the New Zealand market, having run accounts as diverse as Diageo, Sony Ericsson, Unilever, British Airways and the BBC.

“For obvious reasons we’re hugely excited about Abbe returning home to join us,” says James Hurman, managing director. “She’s a New Zealander with a pedigree of brilliant work on iconic brands at one of the world’s greatest agencies. And she’s a central part of our vision for Y&R NZ.”

Executive creative director Josh Moore says the goal is to pull together a team of world-class problem solvers in every discipline of the New Zealand business.

“Abbe is absolutely one of those, an addition to the agency who brings a level of client service experience that's unprecedented in NZ.”

Hale will join Moore and Hurman in the leadership of Y&R and Ideaworks’ client service experience, creative product and culture.

“From the moment I first met James and Josh I was impressed with their vision, passion and commitment to create something that is truly exceptional in the New Zealand market,” says Hale. “Their ambition of ‘Work That The World Looks Up To' especially resonated with me and I'm absolutely thrilled to have been invited to be part of the team. I truly believe that with all the incredible talent at Y&R we will do amazing things together.”

Hale joins other relatively recent additions like Jono Key, Billy McQueen, Bruce Murray, Carlos Savage and plenty more. In the media department, Cath Hamilton and Kelly Beange were also promoted to trading director and media strategy director respectively. 

After a few apparently close-run pitches following Hurman's arrival, Y&R has also had some recent success in terms of new business, with Westfield and The Co-Operative Bank its two biggest wins so far. 

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