Stephen de Wolf announces next move after leaving DDB
Renowned creative Stephen de Wolf has revealed his next move only days after his departure from DDB.
On Tuesday, it was announced that de Wolf will take on the chief creative officer role at BMF.
De Wolf spent nearly three years at DDB as its national chief creative officer, taking over from Ben Walsh in 2021. Prior to that, he worked in the CCO position at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne. Throughout his career, de Wolf has led the creative for some of the world’s biggest brands, including McDonald’s Coles, Audi and Volkswagen.
The BMF CCO role has been vacant since the departure of Alex Derwin in April.
“From early on in my career, I’ve admired everything about BMF. They’ve been a constant creative consciousness in our industry – known for great creativity and strategy, but importantly, an amazing people culture,” de Wolf said of the move.
“It’s not lost on me the shoes Alex has left to fill, but I’m looking forward to giving it a good go alongside the brilliant Steve, Christina, Tara, the two Daves, and the rest of the BMF team.
“I’d also like to say a big thank you to DDB and the clients for a wonderful time. Working with the team at DDB has been a privilege and career highlight.”
BMF CEO, Stephen McArdle, added: “As much as I felt uncomfortable hiring someone who shared my first name, it became clear during the time we spent with Wolfie that he would be a perfect fit for BMF. His creative track record is eye-wateringly good, he holds the respect of the very best agency and client leaders globally and, most importantly, he is an incredibly lovely, considered human – and at BMF that’s means everything.
“Beyond that, Wolfie’s experience developing tech-enabled, immersive brand experiences before they were even-a-thing, was incredibly impressive. When you couple that with his effortless ability to lead big blue-chip businesses in some of the toughest categories in the country, such as retail and financial services, you have someone who’s pretty handy to have around.
“And, if that wasn’t enough, Wolfie’s experience and reputation in Melbourne is a wonderful asset in helping super-charge BMF’s renewed ambitions in that market.”
The appointment comes only weeks after BMF won the Endeavour Group account, which will see the agency work across its portfolio that includes Dan Murphy’s and BWS.
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Neil Griffiths is the Managing Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the company in October 2023.
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