The Monkeys farewells Hugh Munro, announces senior strategy changes
The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, has announced changes to its senior strategy team, effective immediately, following the departure of chief strategist Hugh Munro.
Milla McPhee, who has been with Accenture Song for 18 months as managing director, strategy – growth markets, has taken on the chief strategist officer role at The Monkeys.
Prior to this, McPhee worked in strategy at Droga5 New York from 2011-2016, Adam&EveDDB London from 2016-2021, and also spent time client-side, as head of brand and creative strategy at Amazon in the United Kingdom, before making the move to Accenture Song last year.
She replaces Hugh Munro, who spend the last 18 months as The Monkeys’ chief strategist. Munro has left the agency to launch a new creative indie shoe, Rick Barry, alongside former BMF chief creative Alex Derwin.
Described as “unorthodox” and “effective”, the new shop sees Munro head up strategy, while Derwin will lead creative.
Ben de Castella and Milla McPhee
Of her appointment, McPhee said: “What a privilege it is to lead strategy for Australia’s foremost creative business, inside the world’s most sophisticated technology powerhouse.
“Every day, we show brands how provocative thinking can transform their business, and it’s a joy to do so alongside the best in our business at The Monkeys/Song.”
The agency has also promoted Ben de Castella to head of planning, to support McPhee across strategy and growth.
“When I joined The Monkeys, I knew it was home to some of Australia’s most iconic and effective campaigns. Over the past couple of years, I’ve found out what an incredible bunch it takes to make that happen – not least our tight-knit team of brilliant planners,” de Castella said.
“I couldn’t be more excited about the new role and what we’re going to achieve together next.”
Mark Green, group CEO of The Monkeys and Accenture Song ANZ president, said he’s thrilled to see McPhee and de Castella take on wider responsibilities.
“Both have an impressive record driving growth for some of the world’s leading brands and are perfect partners to help us lead our strategy department,” Green commented.
“As part of this change we are also farewelling Hugh Munro who has been such a force within our strategy department for so long. He leaves with our heartfelt thanks and best wishes for his next adventure.”
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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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I won’t be surprised to see more changes within the Accenture Song group…overall downturn within the group paired with aggressive targets was a recipe for disaster. Stay tuned for more “restructures”….
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