Dentsu Aotearoa has appointed creative leaders, Brett Colliver and Mike Felix, as joint chief creative officers, newly established roles. The pair join from DDB Aotearoa where they have spent the last seven years.
Over their careers Colliver and Felix have worked at globally recognised agencies on some of the biggest brands in both the region and the world, with Felix at Droga5 New York and Leo Burnett Sydney, and Colliver at Clemenger BBDO and Colenso BBDO.
They’ve claimed the top prizes at global creative award shows, including a Titanium Lion, Cannes Grand Prix and Yellow Pencils at D&AD. In 2022 along with Gold at Cannes they became the country’s second ever team to win a D&AD Black Pencil.
In their seven-year partnership they’ve been responsible for notable campaigns, such as Samsung iTest, Steinlager’s Fight for Territory and the last four Lotto Imagine campaigns, helping their clients to be recognised with 11 Gold Effies including the Grand Effie and two Sustained Success effectiveness awards.
Kirsty Muddle, dentsu Creative Australia & New Zealand chief executive officer, stated, “Our creative community continues to go from strength-to-strength, and we are beyond excited to be welcoming Brett and Mike to dentsu Creative. Our aspiration isn’t just to transform communication through creativity but transform business. Brett and Mike can clearly do that, evidenced by their work and awards in recent history. They are one of very few people in the region who have won a black pencil, one of the highest accolades on the global stage.”
Mike Felix commented, “Helping to define dentsu’s creative voice in the local market and New Zealand’s creative voice on the global market (plus getting to keep working with Brett) is an honour I couldn’t turn down.”
Brett Colliver added, “When the new dentsu Creative brand was announced just under 12 months ago, it got my attention. And after meeting people from both the local team and the global team, it’s clear that there are big ambitions and even bigger things already in store at every level. It’s a very exciting time to be joining.”
Felix and Colliver will report directly to dentsu Aotearoa’s chief executive officer, Rob Harvey, and work alongside chief client officer, Rachel Anderson-Cormack, chief strategy officer, Stevie Weber, and the dentsu Creative ANZ leadership team of Kirsty Muddle, Avish Gordhan, and Mandie van der Merwe. They start in their roles on Monday, May 22.
