CCO Stephen de Wolf to depart Clemenger BBDO Melbourne for BBH London
Clemenger BBDO Melbourne chief creative officer, Stephen de Wolf, is departing the agency to become CCO of BBH London.
Joakim Borgström, worldwide chief creative officer of BBH, said he had been following de Wolf’s career for years.
Stephen de Wolf will be joining BBH in London as chief creative officer
“Stephen is a talent of the highest calibre and I’ve been jealously following his ideas for years. If I could, I would love to dive into his brain to see what he is cooking, and how he is cooking it. I can’t wait to see what he brings to BBH London. It’s going to be amazing.”
It is the first time in BBH London’s 38 year history that it has hired externally for the CCO role.
Neil Munn, BBH group chief executive officer said the business searched far and wide to fill the role.
“We searched far and wide for a leader with impeccable creative standards, who can also evolve our business. We have found the right person. Stephen brings pedigree, talent and an infectious energy to succeed,” Munn said.
De Wolf has been with Clemenger BBDO Melbourne since 2014 when he was hired as a creative director. In July 2017 he and Evan Roberts were appointed executive creative directors of the agency, and de Wolf was promoted to chief creative officer in August last year.
Whilst at Clemenger, de Wolf was behind the Transport Accident Commission’s 2016 Meet Graham campaign, which was the most awarded creative campaign in the world that year. He was also behind Snickers’ ‘Hungerithm’, Airbnb’s ‘Until We All Belong’ and Myer’s ‘Naughty or Nice Bauble’ Christmas campaign.
Two years ago, de Wolf was ranked the number one creative director in the world by the Cannes Lions Global Creative Index.
De Wolf said BBH is a “beacon of creativity”.
“I’m excited to be joining the brilliantly inspiring Jab and the most creatively charged and passionate leadership team. I know we have what we need to make some of the best work of our lives,” he said.
James McGrath, Clemenger BBDO creative chairman, gave a statement to Mumbrella: “I’d like to thank Stephen for a great working relationship during his time with Clemenger BBDO both as a creator and for the last six months as CCO. We wish him nothing but the best in his new role.”
Prior to Clemenger BBDO, de Wolf was creative director at 18 Feet & Rising (now known as And Rising) in London. He has spent time at JWT and Saatchi & Saatchi in Sydney.
