Moving abroad
Former Saatchi & Saatchi CEO Nicky Bell is venturing to the US following her appointment as the senior vice president, managing director at R/GA Los Angeles.
Bell had a six-year tenure with Saatchi, after taking over Andrew Stone during which she transformed it after a few tough years prior to her joining. She then handed the reins to Paul Wilson in January of this year when he was charged with giving the agency a new lease of life.
In her new role at the integrated, full-service agency, she will report to R/GA U.S. president Sean Lyons who called her a “proven leader”.
“She’s transformed cultures, refocused and realigned agency capabilities, and contributed to significant growth of client businesses. R/GA has big plans for its Los Angeles office and Nicky is exactly the right person to deliver on them.”
About her new role, Bell said: “I am thrilled to be joining R/GA. With technology changing consumer behavior faster than ever, the RG/A Los Angeles team is perfectly positioned to re-imagine the role of technology in the art of storytelling. They are a hugely talented, progressive thinking team. It’s good to be here.”
The talent hunters
The Clemenger Group has appointed a new in-house recruitment team made up of Charlotte Gordon and Angela Inglis.
The pair will manager the group’s recruitment across its family of agencies: Colenso BBDO, Proximity NZ, Clemenger BBDO, .99 Enterprises, JustOne Ltd, Touchcast, Raydar and Brandworld. They will recruit across all disciplines from account service, CRM/direct, digital, experiential and creative for the group’s Auckland and Wellington offices.
Charlotte Gordon and Angela Inglis
Gordon brings with her knowledge of recruiting in the advertising industry from both here and in the UK. She returns to NZ after ten years in London where she specialised in recruiting for the advertising, broadcast and media industries.
Inglis has held creative and operation service roles at significant agencies in New Zealand and Australia and has three year’s recruitment experience in the industry.
CEO of the Clemenger Group Jim Moser said it is fortunate to have two in-house recruiters to continue to attract talent.
“Charlotte and Angela bring a wealth of experience locally, regionally and globally that will help our companies thrive with the best talent in the market. While we will continue to work with a small, select group of senior outside search firms, the majority of our recruitment will be done in-house.”
A commercial lead
Designworks has a new head of commercial management and new business in Sally Hooper.
Hooper brings with her 10 years of experience from creative agencies in New Zealand and joins the Christchurch branch at a time of growth.
Last month Danielle Barclay joined as group head of brand experience and CEO Sven Baker sees the pair bringing a fresh perspective to Christchurch clients wanting to go beyond traditional design or communications to create memorable, enduring brand experiences.
Picking up the reins
NZ On Screen kicked off the week with a new content director after Kathryn Quirk stepped into the role.
Quirk takes over from Irene Gardiner, who has held the role for the past seven years.
Quirk brings with her screen knowledge from a background in television, broadcasting, production and arts management from roles at TVNZ, including Rights Manager, Channel Manager for TVNZ Heartland, and General Manager of MTV New Zealand. Her most recent role was as Auckland Council’s manager arts, and culture programme planning.
Planning director Janine Faulknor said in the release: “We’re thrilled to welcome Kathryn to NZ On Screen. Her breadth of experience, and reputation within the screen industry, will be tremendous assets to both the team and the site.”
Quirk said she feels privileged to have secured the role at NZ On Screen, and to have her years of experience in the screen sector find their place “is awesome”.
“I love that NZ On Screen is preserving our screen heritage on the platform of the future.”
Taking the wheel
BMW Group New Zealand has appointed Garry Ferris to the position of corporate communications manager.
As an experienced journalist and editor, Ferris will develop and oversee the company’s communication strategy and activities across the BMW and Mini brands.
His previous roles in the media include those in New Zealand, Australia and the UK, covering the automotive industry, motoring, sport and business topics. More recently he was editor-in-chief of Fairfax New Zealand’s Auckland newsroom and sports editor of the Sunday Star-Times and Sunday News.
YouTube skills
Johnson & Laird Management has a new junior talent agent in Ryan Lamont.
Lamont’s primary focus will be to assist in the development and growth of the Social Talent division. He brings with him experience as a YouTube content creator and the role of social media manager of AmplifyLive and holds a diploma in film production, majoring in production design from South Seas Film and Television School.
About his new role he said: “I’m excited to join the team and learn about talent management – which is so important to young social talent.
“From my home time in Hamilton, to Sydney and now Auckland – it’s been a fun journey to see the social media world expand and diversify itself to always stay relevant to the millennial market. It will be exciting to see how it continues to impact the future digital landscape and how Social Talent will pave the way.”
Moving up
Rupert Price has stepped into the role of chief strategy officer across both DDB and Interbrand.
His previous role with DDB was planning director, which he held since 2012 when he moved from his position as head of planning at Ogilvy.
DDB Chairman Martin O’Halloran said Price has extensive planning experience, previously in DDB and more recently with Interbrand, as well as a strong team working with him in both businesses.
“We know Rupe as a great guy, a very smart, clear thinker and a passionate advocate for effectiveness. In his new role, he will assume leadership of the Interbrand Strategy and DDB Planning teams. We’re getting ready to also announce a new appointment as Head of Strategy at Interbrand too, who will report to Rupert.”
Swapping sides
Progressive Enterprises has a new senior communication advisor in Katherine Klouwens.
Klouwens steps into the role from competitor Foodstuffs where she held the role of group communication manager for three years.
