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Movings / Shakings: 3 June

Coming on board

​NZME has two new appointments, with Matt Headland as the new general manager agency markets and Mike Beazley as the new head of direct come August.

Headland joins from his role as director of national direct sales at MediaWorks and will be responsible for all agency revenue while leading the teams in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Australia.

​Beazley leaves his role as country manager at Vodafone Global Enterprise and will lead the team of newly appointed direct general managers, the commercial programme development manager and commercial managers.

From TV to radio

Tim Watkin has announced, via Twitter, that he will be joining Radio New Zealand to be executive producer of podcasts and series.

He leaves his executive producer role at The Nation on TV3 and said while the move will be hard, the new role offers huge scope to create radio in a new way.

An international move

Colenso BBDO/Proximity has enhanced its strategic offering with the appointment of Mylene Ong.

Ong joins from her role as head of strategy at BBH Shanghai and has nearly 20 years experience working in international agencies including BBH, JWT New York, M&C Saatchi and TBWA.

She said: “People have told me that when choosing jobs, I need to consider my trade-off carefully. So when a rare opportunity came along to work in one of the best agencies in the world and raise my family in a beautiful country like New Zealand, the choice was clear. There was simply no trade-off for me.”

Managing director at Colenso BBDO said Ong brings a new world view to the agency with vast experience in multiple, demanding markets.

“She’s the most culturally inquisitive thinker I’ve come across, with a really strong, broad planning pedigree – and her time with Sir John Hegarty has clearly taken its toll, with her resounding belief in the power of creativity.

“Planning is a vital part of our business. Our clients are looking to us to provide them with world-class strategic and creative thinking that will give them a competitive advantage. It’s no longer just about communications strategy, rather how brands can build better relationships with their consumers. So to be able to add a strategist of Mylene’s experience and talent to our team is a major coup.”

A new role

Trans-Tasman branding agency Principals has a new team member as Nel Johnson comes onboard as group head of design.

Johnson joins the Auckland office and will also be sharing his 20 years of experience, from the UK and New Zealand, with the rapidly expanding experience design teams in Principals’ Sydney and Melbourne offices.

His most recent role was with Designworks Auckland and he said the opportunity to join the Auckland team was too good to pass up.

“With their strong strategic and design work, there’s a great platform for us to do some incredible work in experience design. I’m looking forward to jumping into it, and giving things a shake on both sides of the Tasman.”

Principals Group CEO Tom Brigstocke said Johnson is going to be a huge asset to the team and its clients.

“We share a belief in building stronger relationships between brands and consumers through design-thinking, user-centred design, and creative technologies, so we’re thrilled to have him onboard.”

Right on track

Track has experienced rapid growth since its realignment, with 10 new hires

Andy Bell has been promoted to head up Track’s combined planning and digital capabilities including UX design and digital production.

The planning team has been further strengthened by the addition of Nicola Henshaw as the planning director.

Henshaw has returned to New Zealand following a three-year sting as planning partner at rpp UK where she worked on Virgin Media, Dulux, PayPal and Bayer.

Her arrival is just the latest in a string of ten hires since the start of the year for Track, with further growth seen in the creative team, digital design and development, and client services.

In February, Sarndra Bell came on board as the director of client services after four years with Affinity ID. She is also actively seeking a new senior account director and senior account Managers to support the increasing client demand for TRACK’s services.

From around the world

Auckland agency Chemistry Interaction is continuing to grow as three new hires join the team.

The first is Penny Wolhuter, an award-winning senior account director who has recently emigrated from South Africa. An experienced marketer, strategist and client relationship manager, Wolhuter’s track record includes seven years at Ogilvy Durban as group account director and five years at Primedia Lifestyle, where she managed marketing for the largest shopping mall in the Southern Hemisphere.

She said: “I feel extremely blessed to be working with such a great bunch of talented individuals. Chemistry is seriously on the way up and I look forward to being part of the journey.”

Also joining the team is Mel Moss, who joins as a senior account manager from Axonn Media, a content marketing agency in London.

Moss said she chose Chemistry because it filled in the gaps of a traditional agency.

“I know that sounds like a cliché, but it was important to me to join a smart independent who not only challenges their clients, but also themselves.”

Also fresh off the boat is account executive Jamie Lund, who joins straight from Upmysport, a bleeding-edge tech startup in London, where his role included content curation, community management and social media planning.

He said joining Chemistry was a chance to learn from award-winning creatives and suits in the coolest environment in the business.

Co-founder and director of Chemistry Joseph Silk said it is always on the lookout for the best talent.

“We’re delighted that the guys have joined us at such an exciting time. Our business is constantly growing and changing and it’s all about having the right people to take us where we need to go.”

The weed-whacker

ICG is saying goodbye to senior copywriter Murray Watt, who will be joining FCB as a copywriter. 

He has been with the company, working on the agency side for just over a year, and has helped create work for Green Cross Health, Qantas, Skinny, Green Acres, Chorus and more.

In addition to his position at FCB, it is rumoured Watt will also put his bush-work and weed-whacking skills to the test, starting a new business. We believe it will be the North Island’s version of Canterbury’s Forests and Meadows.

A new adventure

Julie Rutledge has left News Works after her role as regional business development and newspaper communications manager has been disestablished.

She said: “It has been fun but as they say, all good things must come to an end. These are changing and challenging times we are living in – change is the new norm, like flat is the new growth.

“I have no idea where my next adventure will be but whatever it is I hope to have the same great people to work with and get the same enjoyment from it.”

Editor gets a gong

Kiwi editor Andrew Holmes took home and the ‘Best Editing’ award at The One Show awards in New York.

The One Show is one of the most prestigious awards competitions in advertising and he won a Bronze Pencil for his film editing work on a Droga5/Sweet Shop tvc for Tiger Beer.

Holmes works in post-production in Sydney.

Take a bow

Orangebox has been named a Xerox Premiere Partners Best of the Best Award winner.

The awards represent the most innovative and forward-thinking digital printers in the industry and entries are judged by an external industry panel on image quality, business results, innovation or creativity, and overall use of Xerox solutions.

Orangebox received an honourable mention for digital print production for a Foodstuffs campaign.

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