The Monkeys establishes itself in Melbourne with two top Clems talents

The Monkeys has officially named the chief executive officer of its new Melbourne agency. Paul McMillan has arrived at The Monkeys from Clemenger Melbourne, where he was managing director.

The new agency has also hired its head of strategy for Melbourne, Michael Derepas – again from Clemenger.

McMillan had been at Clemenger for more than three and a half years. As managing director, he was responsible for more than 350 staff and an impressive client roster. McMillan, who made his mark in the industry running the Carlton and United Breweries account, was also part of the management team that put Clemenger in the spotlight internationally, leading to its being Cannes Agency of the Year and D&AD Agency of The Year this year.

Paul McMillan

He commented, “Joining The Monkeys to head up the Melbourne office is a great opportunity. They have built a world class creative reputation and now in conjunction with Accenture Interactive they can really shape where the industry is going. I am really looking forward to working with the founders and building the latest chapter in Melbourne.”

Derepas is another major asset for The Monkeys, recognised as the number three Planning Director in the World by the 2017 Big Won Report and chosen to break new creative ground for the agency’s growing list of Melbourne-based clients.

During his 11-year stint at Clemenger, he helped to reinvigorate and reposition some of Australia’s best-loved brands, including Mars, Fonterra, Mercedes-Benz, Bonds and TAC, and helped the agency to gain recognition through globally applauded campaigns for CUB brands, Carlton Draught, Victoria Bitter, Pure Blonde and Corona, win Yellow and Graphite pencils for Bonds Balls and a achieve Wood pencil for Snickers Hungerithm.

Michael Derepas

Derepas stated, “Being part of a team that gets to open a new office for The Monkeys in Melbourne was too good an opportunity to ignore. For a planner the opportunity to combine the creativity of The Monkeys with the tech, digital and data capability of Accenture Interactive is really exciting.”

The Monkeys co-founder and group chief executive officer, Mark Green, added, “We are delighted to welcome Paul and Mike to the team. They have worked on some of Australia’s most famous campaigns across multiple brands and agencies. They will help us build a great business in the Melbourne market as we begin to service new clients such as Holden.”