Stephen de Wolf returns to Clems as national CCO
Leading creative Stephen de Wolf is returning to Clemenger BBDO as its national chief creative officer.
De Wolf spent six years at Clemenger BBDO during the 2010s, and described it as “the agency that defined me”. Now, he said, “I get to be part of the team redefining it”.
He was behind work for TAC, Mars, Airbnb, and Myer — campaigns that helped Clems become the first Australian agency to be named the most creative in the world at both D&AD and Cannes Lions.
He was most recently CCO at BMF, a role he has been in since September last year.
Prior to that, de Wolf was at DDB Australia for three years. He also spent nearly 18 months at BBH London. His portfolio spans global brands including Samsung, Burger King, Tesco, Western Union, Barclays, Audi, Volkswagen, Pernod Ricard, and Perfetti.
Stephen de Wolf
“Coming back feels like coming home to the place where I’ve done some of my most meaningful work, with people who believe in creativity’s power to move culture and drive results,” de Wolf said in a media release on Tuesday.
In his new role, he will work closely with CEO Lee Leggett to “lead the agency’s next chapter”.
The next chapter the release refers to is the newly formed Clemenger BBDO, made up of the combined Clems, Chep Network, and Traffik agencies.
As a result of the consolidation’s inevitable restructure, several senior leaders departed in recent months, including Chep’s CCO Gavin McLeod and CSO Lilian Sor, and Clemenger BBDO’s CEO Dani Bassil, CCO Adrián Flores, and chief growth officer Anita Zanesco.
Most recently, Clems’ chief media officer Anna Cherry announced her departure, to head up Bastion’s new media offering.
A small number of redundancies have also occurred due to the merger.
Clemenger BBDO has said there is a “big communications job” to be done as it settles into this new chapter.
“Wolfie’s return is more than a hire — it’s a statement,” Leggett said in the release.
“He’s not just a world-class creative. He’s someone who knows the heart of this agency and believes in what we’re building. His leadership will help shape the Clemenger of tomorrow.”
BMF’s CEO Stephen McArdle thanked de Wolf for his time with the agency.
“Wolfie is a great creative leader who has helped us maintain the positive momentum we’ve built up at BMF in his short time with us,” he said in a statement sent to Mumbrella.
“We’re disappointed he won’t be here to write the next chapter, but we wish him nothing but the best, as he takes on the challenge at Clemenger in three months’ time.”
McArdle said that “fortunately”, the agency has an “incredible creative department” in place, and as BMF moves into a “period of significant growth”, it will be focused on enhancing this creative leadership.
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Lauren McNamara is the associate editor at Mumbrella, covering the creative and PR beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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