Wayne Deakin has become AKQA executive creative director at its London office. He will report to international executive creative director, Duan Evans (who is from New Zealand), and will look after the London creative team with executive creative director, Masaya Nakade, and head of experience design, Rob McIntosh.

Duan Evans (l) and Wayne Deakin (r)

Deakin is the Australian who didn’t make it as a pro surfer, but did get an MA in Semiotics and Cognitive Sciences from the Queensland University of Technology while working his way up the adland ladder, beginning as what Deakin describes as a “young spotty would-be writer” at AWARD school.

He was group creative director at 20:20 during the time it became the UK’s largest digital agency. He was creative director at Germany’s hottest creative agency, Jung Von Matt. And he was executive creative director at The Engine Group from 2011 to 2014.

His proudest period perhaps? “At Engine – I built JAM (now called Deep Focus) from no creatives to Digital Agency of the Year runner- up in my 1st year (grew the agency by 355%, won a host of new biz & awards). I kept it at Top 5 Agency status for 4 years.”

Duan Evans commented, “Wayne is an impressive creative leader with a proven track record for building trust and confidence with his teams and clients. He is singularly focused on creating ideas that move businesses forward by providing meaningful and original experiences for their customers. It is with great excitement that we welcome Wayne to AKQA.”

Deakin added, “I’ve always respected AKQA for brilliance and pioneering ideas. The work is consistently reinventing our business and brands. I value the meritocratic culture and entrepreneurial mind-set of the AKQA team, which make me feel very much at home.”