Damian Royce has been appointed to the newly created position of chief creative officer at 303 MullenLowe Perth. Long-time executive creative director, Richard Berney and head of planning, John Linton, are departing the agency to start their own business together.
Royce has been executive creative director at Havas in Melbourne for the last six years, and has also held creative leadership positions at TBWA, Cummins&Partners, and Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, where he was a creative director and company leadership board director.
303 MullenLowe Perth managing director, René Migliore, stated, “This is an important hire, one that adds a brilliant new dimension to our amazing creative and design team. Damian is an exceptional talent, one of Australia’s most respected CDs, a brand builder, proven team leader, a digital pioneer in creative circles and one of the nicest people you’ll meet. He also brings strong business nous to help solve a range of business problems with creative solutions.
“We’ve been lucky enough to have Rich Berney with us for 18 years, and John for eight years. They have been fundamental to this business, giving their heart and soul,” he continued. “They’ve built their respective areas within 303 MullenLowe and we’ve seen them grow and flourish, but it’s an exciting time for them to back themselves and build something of their own. It’s also the perfect time for the business and our evolution. They’ll remain good friends to the agency and we genuinely wish them every success.”
Royce’s work has been recognised at every major international award festival, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, London International Awards, Clio, New York Festivals, Webbys, Spikes Asia, Caples New York, AWARD, Effie Awards and more. Notably, his work has also received a Cannes Lions Grand Prix and the rare Green Pencil at One Show for innovative and ethical creativity.
He will relocate to Perth from his native Melbourne to take up the new role. He will oversee all creative output at 303 MullenLowe Perth as well as focussing on generating new opportunities, building key skills and applying creativity to solving business issues. The agency has searched globally for a new chief strategy officer to work closely with Royce, with an exciting new announcement to be made soon.
Royce stated, “Joining a creative company with an all-new leadership team ready to help brands grow is a rare opportunity, and it’s exactly what I was looking for. Along with René; Attivo CEO, Cam Murchison; a new chief strategy officer; and an evolved agency team, we will leverage the many ways creativity can be used to move businesses forward. It’s an exciting time to join 303 MullenLowe, who have been building momentum in an ever-changing market. I’m looking forward to this collaboration and above all, helping brands get noticed.”
The agency has also made some other significant promotions as part of recent business planning. Taryn Payne has become the new head of business management, Johnathan Julius the new head of production and Smiljka Dimitrijevic the new head of planning.
“Taryn, Smiljka and JJ are all brilliant leaders within the agency and highly respected in their fields. Their passion and energy is infectious. They’ll own, design and build out the evolution of their respective areas of the business, significantly boosting depth of capability,” Migliore continued. “Change is the lifeblood of any agency wanting to stay both relevant and innovative. We’re embracing the opportunity to further evolve our offering, and our ability to create innovative, consistent results for our partners.”
