The industry’s nicest
In this roundJohn Mescall
In this round up from the Encore and Mumbrella annual, we celebrate the nicest people working in the industry.
1. John Mescall, ECD, McCann Australia
When was the last time you cried watching an ad? Mescall was behind The Impossible Orchestra – a 24-hour musical tribute to the 2.6m Australians who take care of sick or disabled loved ones – which got the audience blubbing. It was a campaign with heart, and that’s what Mescall (who devotes lots of his time working with charities) is all about. A genuine, bullshit-free bloke with bags of talent.
2. Mark Coad, CEO, PHd Australia
Unassuming and mild-mannered, Coad is not your typical big-talking CEO. And yet he could not have turned around former agency OMD without making some tough decisions. One of the most accomplished media operators in Australia, the Melburnian leads with an assured lack of fuss.
3. Suzie Shaw, MD, Host Sydney
It can’t be easy having agency founder Anthony Freeman breathing down your neck. And yet Shaw manages to run Host with a kind, nurturing touch. Loved by clients and staff alike.
4. Barry O’Brien, Chief Sales Officer, Network Ten
One of the most popular people in media, Barry O’Brien was a smart hire by Ten – as much to bring in favours owed to him during his agency days as his undoubted friendliness and likeability.
Peter ‘Biggsy’ Biggs
5. Peter Biggs, CEO, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne
Biggsy is proof that you don’t have to be hard-nosed to run a successful business (that role, you could argue, is filled by Clems executive chairman Robert Morgan). Does it help that the eloquent Kiwi trained to be a priest for seven years? Probably not. But it just might have given him a sense of fairness and justice, says one of his colleagues. “He treats everyone from James McGrath to the cleaning lady the same,” they say. “He makes time for everybody and has no hierarchical hang ups.”
6. Justin Drape, Creative Partner, The Monkeys
While The Monkeys boss Mark Green gives the agency its harder, competitive edge, creative partner Justin Drape is someone who’d put down his latte to help a granny cross the road. His boy-next-door demeanor is all too rare in Sydney’s aloof creative circles.
7. Al Crawford, Planning Director, Clemenger BBDO, Sydney
Crawford has the air of eccentric academic, and is quite possibly the brainiest planner in Australia. And he’s also a chilled, reliable, assured type – the sort of bloke “you might call if you got caught at a Mexican airport with a suitcase full of drugs”, says one of his admirers.
- This list first appeared in the Encore and Mumbrella Annual available in the App store and on Google Play.
All these ‘nicest people’ are in senior roles, with relatively public personas to maintain.
How about the ‘unknown’ nicest people? Those who labour in the depths of agencies and don’t get recognised for their genuine niceness?
It woul be nice (no pun) to see these people recognised sometimes, not just those in better paid and more public roles.
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