Colenso BBDO New Zealand appoints senior talent to its account management team

Colenso BBDO NZ has continued its investment in top talent with the appointment of four new senior staff in the account management team. The new hires come on the back of a sustained period of creative and new business success, which has seen the agency grow rapidly over the last year.

The first major hire is Sarah Williams (top left) who has joined Colenso as the business director on the BNZ account.

Says Williams: “It’s brave, category breaking and I think they (BNZ) are really starting to behave quite differently as an organisation as a result.” 

Prior to joining the team at 100 College Hill Williams headed up the Telecom account for Saatchi & Saatchi – she has also spent time at Whybin/TBWA and DDB where she helped to build some of New Zealand’s leading brands including ASB and 2 Degrees.

Jillian Stanton (top right) is another top find for Colenso where she will be working alongside Williams as group account director on the BNZ account. With an extensive background in FMCG marketing, Jillian has spent time at DDB, Saatchi’s, and most recently at .99 where she worked on New World.

The third new recruit is Sarah Barrett (bottom left) who has joined Colenso as part of the Proximity team. She’s come from Special and she’ll be the senior account director on the trans-Tasman Visa business. Barrett is a specialist in delivering creative brand communications via digital and social channels. Barrett’s digital skills were honed in Australia and at London based brand and social agency Birddog Ltd.  

Victoria Graves (bottom right) is the fourth senior account management hire, joining from DDB. Graves has also spent time at .99 and agencies in Christchurch and the UK. Victoria will be looking after Burger King and a number of Fonterra brands including Tip Top, Mainland and Anchor as a group account director.

Says Nick Garrett, Colenso’s managing director: “Finding great talent is one of the biggest hurdles any agency leader in our industry faces and it’s a lot tougher in small markets. So I’m chuffed to find four great people that will add loads of value to the agency professionally and culturally.”