Dynamic Duos: The artist and the ex-water polo star
In this week's Dynamic Duos, Spark Foundry NZ's joint heads of strategy, Olly King and Kyra Hale Lyden, reflect on their meeting at GroupM NZ, why they have such a strong relationship, and Olly's habit of not finishing... his sentences.
In Dynamic Duos, Mumbrella each week asks two colleagues with a professional and personal affiliation to share with readers the importance of workplace relationships in an increasingly hybridised world of work.
Olly King:
I clearly remember the moment we decided to make our partnership as a strategy team official. We were sitting downstairs at a café in the GroupM NZ offices and Kyra turned to me and said, “This is only going to work if you are 100% committed.” She could somehow tell that I was disengaged and had one foot out the door.
I have always been afraid of commitment when it came to work. I guess it came from a place of insecurity. This is when I realised what type of human I was dealing with. Kyra could read my inner thoughts. Eyeballing me, she waited patiently for my answer. It was true, I was planning my escape to the country and becoming a full-time artist.
I panicked and said yes. And that “yes”, was the beginning of a partnership that has seen us work across three different agency groups, cement an unlikely friendship between two different people and that has unleashed what we like to call, creativity in media.
Kyra is strong willed, bold, smart and genuine with an aura of humility. I have not come across someone quite like her before. She played water polo for New Zealand, was in the Auckland Theatre company and her favourite interior wall colour is white. Mine is pink.
She has a photographic memory. This can be both a blessing and a curse, I’m really not sure which one I prefer.
We spend our days talking, sharing thoughts, in meetings, writing stuff, making things look pretty, looking at things, talking some more. Our relationship is built on trust.
I trust Kyra with my abstract thoughts. I trust her with my random ideas. I trust that I can say anything and will not be judged. With that trust we have a better chance of coming to an interesting solution.
She can be so intelligent I sometimes just pretend I understand what she is saying.
Kyra is the person everyone comes to for help, she’s generous with people when it comes to giving her time and guidance. Whereas people seem to be kind of scared of me sometimes, but I have learnt to accept that.
Kyra Hale Lyden:
We met working at GroupM NZ, and we organically became a team over time. Olly was heading up Strategy at the time, as well as practising as an artist with his first solo at the Sydney contemporary. An artist, a strategist, a style icon and a media veteran that was introduced to me as an “absolute genius.” Needless to say, I was intimidated by Olly.
I knew I wanted to learn from him, so I’d find briefs that would give me an excuse to pick his brains. Pretty much immediately I realised there was nothing intimidating at all about Olly. He listened, was kind and encouraging. He was able to draw things out of me that made me excited to work in advertising.
It would have been expected and entirely accepted for Olly to simply mentor or manage me, to put in place a hierarchy, but as it turned out that is just not his style. From day one he treated me as an equal, a partner, even in those early days where I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. It was this generosity and complete lack of ego that laid the foundations for how we work today, and what we’ve managed to achieve over the years.
Our relationship is built on respect, for each other as people and the way our respective brains work. It’s what allows us to strike the balance between communicating almost telepathically, whilst also having the space for different views and perspectives.
Olly on Kyra:
Most memorable moment with Kyra: When we presented together for the first time, we weren’t quite sure how it would go. It was new content, a new and somewhat controversial perspective and because we both hate scripting we decided not to write one. We somehow managed to bring the content to life in a way that was really unexpected and unique. Against all odds, everyone loved it. It’s the moment I realised that we were doing something different and interesting.
Best word to describe her: I would describe Kyra as a maker. She can solve problems in a way that is both functional and unique.
Most annoying habit or endearing behaviour she has: Making me finish my sentences when I have already moved on to the next thing.
Kyra on Olly:
Most memorable moment with Olly: The moment I realised that the year Olly started in advertising was the year I turned 2.
Best word to describe him: I would describe Olly as an Original. One of a kind, inherently creative, intimidatingly smart, without an ego, and just a really nice person.
Most annoying habit or endearing behaviour he has: Stopping mid-sentence and then moving on as if he’s fully landed his point and he’s been super clear, then acting like I’m putting him out when I ask him to please finish his sentence.
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Lauren McNamara was the associate editor at Mumbrella. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS. She left Mumbrella in August 2025.
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