James Mok has made a new home for himself at VMLY&R as managing director, while former managing director Jono Key is now a principal partner at Pitchblack Partners.
According to LinkedIn, Mok joined VMLY&R this month and Key departed in December.
VMLY&R regional joint CEOs Aden Hepburn and Pete Bosilkovski said in a statement that they warmly welcome Mok to VMLY&R.
“We are thrilled to have a person of James’ calibre on board to help shape the future of the agency. This year is going to be very exciting as we formally launch the VMLY&R brand to the New Zealand market –flexing our exceptional brand experience offering through creativity, technology, data and culture to deliver communications across the entire connected customer experience.”
Key had been managing director of Y&R since January 2017 after stepping up from the head of planning, a role he’d held since 2013.
Meanwhile, Mok had been with FCB for 14 years before leaving in October last year. His most recent job at the agency was executive creative director for Asia Pacific.
Under his leadership, FCB has created some long-standing campaigns such as Pak’nSave’s ‘Stickman‘, which this year celebrated its 10th birthday, and Mitre 10’s ‘Sandpit’. Other campaigns include Depression for the Ministry of Health, It’s Not OK Family Violence, the globally awarded ‘Driving Dogs’ for Mini, and multiple campaigns for Vodafone.
In addition to his role in New Zealand, he has also provided creative leadership across the Asia Pacific region and the wider global FCB network.
VMLY&R is the new name for Y&R, after WPP consolidates Y&R with digital agency VML.
The new name came into effect this year.
