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Movings/Shakings: 6 March

In the windy city

Following on from a period of change that included the recent departure of Philip Andrew, Clemenger BBDO has added two new employees to its team in Steven Hansen (left) and David Milner (right).

Milner returns to Wellington as a brand planner, with a focus on innovation strategy and social change consulting. Previously at Dentsu Australia, Milner did the brand planning for Toyota passenger model launches, led large-scale customer research projects, and shaped the brand strategy and a subsequent product development project for 4 Pines Brewing Co. 

Recently, he became an advisor at MINDEAS, a virtual reality startup focused on developing a new model of therapy-based personal development.

Ex-Ogilvy art director Hansen also joins the team having worked across some of the nation’s biggest brands, including Vodafone, McDonald’s Air New Zealand, V Energy, Mountain Dew, Holden, Powerade and Coca Cola. 

Sean Keaney, who was last year promoted to the general manager position at the addition, said that Milner and Andrew were “brilliant additions” to the team.  

“They’re big thinkers with big personalities and big drive to do innovative work. Right now we’re getting them entrenched in our clients’ businesses. I look forward to some stellar results,” Keaney said in a release.

Going solo

After three years as Wellington creative director, Scott Henderson is leaving Y&R NZ to launch his own independent strategic and creative consultancy based in Wellington.

Over the last three to four years, Henderson has been with the agency during a transitional period. 

“It’s been great to see the change in the Wellington agency over the last three years – and to be a part of the broader transformation of Y&R NZ,” he said in a release. “The agency has a fantastic momentum – so the decision to leave is more about pursuing new opportunities, and new ways of working, outside the full-service agency model.”

Tim Ellis, the managing director of the Wellington side of the business, applauded Henderson’s efforts at the agency.  

“Scott has made a huge contribution to the agency since his arrival at the start of 2012,” said Ellis. “His knowledge of the market, strong strategic ability, and determination to deliver great work, have helped us create a lot of momentum and build a fantastic client base in Wellington.” 

 More details of Henderson’s new venture will be announced after he finishes with the agency in late March. 

Y&R NZ will be making an announcement about Scott’s replacement in the coming weeks.

Southerly change 

Tourism New Zealand’s director of Trade, PR and Major Events Justin Watson has taken up the role of chief commercial officer at Christchurch International Airport.

After more than four years with Tourism New Zealand in Auckland, he moved back to his home town of Christchurch in February.

Chief Executive Kevin Bowler says while his departure is a loss for Tourism New Zealand, the industry will continue to benefit from his expertise.

“With Justin heading back to Christchurch he will play a key role in the regeneration effort in the city and in supporting one of the region’s leading operators.”

New boss

The newspaper industry has appointed BBC executive Brian Hill to head the Newspaper Publishers’ Association and its marketing and sales arm News Works NZ.

Holding senior roles with BBC worldwide since 2007, Hill is currently completing a review of the media and consumer products business in the New Zealand market. BBC Worldwide is the corporation’s global content company with annual sales in excess of $2 billion and a staff of 1900.

Before coming to Auckland last year, Hill was UK sales and retail director of consumer products and previously held other senior content sales and licensing roles.

Earlier in his career, Hill worked in sales and business development positions with the home entertainment divisions of Woolworths Group and Kingfisher Retail Group.  

Announcing the appointment, NPA chairman Michael Muir said Hill would bring a strong commercial focus to the newspaper industry’s national bodies. 

“Brian has worked for one of the world’s most respected media brands, and will be a strong advocate for newspapers, in both print and digital platforms.”

He replaces former executive director Jenny Stiles who resigned last year.

Stepping in

Pippa Wetzell will join Mike Hosking on the Seven Sharp panel as a co-host while Toni Street is on maternity leave.

Currently the host of TV One’s Fair Go, Wetzell joins the show from Monday. Over the next few months, she will host the show from Monday to Thursday, with Nadine Chalmers-Ross stepping in on Fridays.

“There’s no doubt there are big shoes to fill with Toni, but I’m looking forward to returning to a live show format next to Mike Hosking, who I have so much respect for,” she said in a TVNZ release.

TVNZ’s head of news and current affairs John Gillespie says: “It goes without saying that Pippa is a fantastic journalist and she’ll have a lot of fun and a great time with Mike on the show. They will make a strong team over these next few months.”

Despite the additional responsibility, Wetzell will continue to co-host Fair Go on Wednesday nights on TV One.

Taking the big seat

95bFM has announced the promotion of music and digital entertainment producer Hugh Sundae to the role of general manager. (Image credit: NZ Herald).


 

A release from the radio station said that Sundae was chosen after a series of interviews, and will now be responsible for bring fruition to the 10-year strategic plan developed by bFM’s trustess and board. 

Trustee Simon Telfer pointed to Sundae’s appointment as an example of bFM’s role in incubating broadcasting talent.

“Hugh started here as a volunteer aged 14, worked his way through various roles on and off air before launching a successful career in television in New Zealand and the United Kingdom,” said Telfer in a release. “His recent experience as the digital entertainment producer at NZME for the Herald and his entrepreneurial flair staging the NZ Film Awards is highly relevant to bFM’s future as a content generator.”

Sundae is also enthusiastic to be taking on the new role, and says that working in multimedia channels over the past decade has been vital in preparing him for what he calls his “dream job”. 

“As a 10-year-old, bFM was my crush, as a teenager bFM was my third parent and in my twenties it was my university. I’ve tried to bring a bit of bFM to every job I’ve done since and I’m intensely excited to help enable those talented bastards to broadcast the shit out of themselves.”

Sundae slides into the big chair at bFM on Monday 30 March.

The K team

Producer Kim Kirby has joined 8 in an executive producing role. Kirby will work alongside managing director and executive producer Katie Millington to further expand the business, particularly in Australia. 

Commenting on the new appointment, Millington expressed enthusiasm about working alongside the new recruity.

“Kim brings a wealth of film experience from the UK and Australia, a bundle of local industry knowledge and a genuine love for the business,” she say. “Her energy is infectious, she’s clever, crafty and fun. Kim gave me a leg up in the industry not so many years ago, so it feels serendipitous that we’re now working together. This is going to be a big year for 8, not to mention lunch times just got a whole lot more interesting.” 

Kirby said that her admiration for the team at 8 served as strong impetus to join.

“Collaborating with Katie Millington and Mike Vanderfield was a no brainer for me,” Kirby said in a release. “They should both be really proud of the culture they’ve built at 8. I’ve always loved Mike and Katie is an inspiration. Never have I met somebody with such diverse and clever ideas. We are all about to start a very rewarding journey”. 

With a stable of 10 directors and the announcement of a new addition to the roster to be made shortly, 8 has offices in Surry Hills (Sydney) and Freemans Bay (Auckland). 

Retail writers

NZRetail magazine recently underwent a major facelift, which included the introduction of a digital extension called The Register. 

And to ensure that both the revamped mag and the new site are filled with content, Tangible Media (part of the Image Centre Group) has appointed Sarah Dunn (left) as editor and Elly Strang (right) as a full-time journalist.

Dunn joins the publication from Fairfax, where she spent two and half years as a reporter on the health, environment and secondary Tasman District Council rounds at the Nelson Mail. Before that she had a short stint of about two months as an intern at the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Strang has already worked at Tangible for the last seven months, serving as intern on Idealog magazine from August last year while she completed her journalism studies at AUT University.

Tech star

Al Monro has joined the Board of Australasian ecommerce solutions company eStar.   

Most recently, Monro served as the chief executive of NextWindow, a developer of optical touch screens that was acquired by SMART Technologies in April 2010. In ten years, Monro grew this business from two employees to over 140 staff and US$46m in sales.

“I’m delighted to join eStar, an Australasian company with an exciting future in the ecommerce space,” Monro said in a release. “In a competitive international market, eStar has proven it can attract and retain top quality customers with the likes of the Country Road Group and Briscoe Group, among many others. I believe eStar has a strong and experienced executive management team and Board, and is poised for growth.”
 
Monro is also a director of Foster Moore International, Phitek Systems and Optima. Prior to NextWindow, Monro spent 18 years with IBM in New Zealand and Asia, in a variety of sales, marketing, business management and leadership roles.
 

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