Dentsu Creative has welcomed eight new appointments to its Melbourne office.
Following the successful launch of Dentsu Creative in Australia and New Zealand, which bought together the local creative agency brands under one network and brand name, Dentsu Creative Melbourne has named Trent Hendrick as creative director.
Mandie van der Merwe, Dentsu Creative Australia chief creative officer, said: “This is huge for us. These new hires bring an injection of energy and talent that will help our clients differentiate their brands in new and meaningful ways.
“They are modern creatives. And I can’t wait to see them solve real business challenges with big, juicy ideas that can live anywhere.”
Creative director Hendrick brings over 14 years of experience working in agencies across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Amsterdam, including BMF, Sapient Nitro and Cummins & Partners, across clients such as the AFL, Jacob’s Creek Creek, MLA, Kellogg’s, Jeep, Specsavers and Virgin. He is a passionate mentor of young creatives, serving as an AWARD School tutor and taking out Victorian top tutor in 2018.
Hendrick said: “I’m thrilled to join Sarah along with Scotty and Ruben to help steer Melbourne’s creative offering. It feels like an exciting time to join Dentsu Creative. There’s a team of clever thinkers right across the business that are committed to doing great work.”
Hendrick is joined by Katie Britton, a senior copywriter with over 20 years of experience via Soulfresh, Cummins & Partners and VMLY&R where she created award-winning work for clients, including Schweppes, Public Transport Victoria, the AFL, Monash University, AGL, Odyssey House and The Lost Dogs Home.
Mathew Hine, an art director with over 10 years of experience, joins after an extended freelance stint with the agency, having previously worked at M&C Saatchi and McCann on brands including Cricket Australia, Lexus, Smiling Mind, Metro Trains, Specsavers and Forty Winks.
Tosh Greenslade joins as copywriter. Tosh is a recent graduate of Award School and was previously an actor, writer and comedian, working as a core cast member on all 15 seasons of Sean Micallef’s Mad as Hell on the ABC. He has also written for numerous TV programs and published a satirical novel – ‘The Scomo Diaries’ through Penguin Random House.
Monique Horsley and Kean Szczur join from TBWA and SDWM respectively. Copywriter Horsley’s experience spans brands like Nissan, SEEK, Fonterra, Deakin and Coles Financial Services while art director, Szczur has previously worked on campaigns for TAC, Nandos, WorkSafe, Spinifex Gum and Peters, after starting out as a director, editor and producer in film.
Leighton Howindt also joins as copywriter, partnering with art director Lilly Wollmering, who joined the agency late last year. Howindt graduated in third place from Award School in 2019 and went on to work at Big Red and Noisy Beast. Wollmering, also a 2019 Award School graduate, was previously at Noisy Beast.
Sarah McGregor, Dentsu Creative Melbourne executive creative director, said: “I am so excited by the potential in this team – they are not only talented, driven individuals who exemplify our values, but are incredibly nice people too. After our re-brand and a move to a sensational new office space in Cremorne, it feels like a brilliant new chapter – I can’t wait to see what they achieve.”
The Melbourne appointments follow on from Dentsu Creative Australia appointing Avish Gordhan and van der Merwe as the business’ first chief creative officers.
See also: Dentsu Creative Australia names its joint chief creative officers
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Top image, left to right: Kean Szczur, Monique Horsley, Mathew Hine, Sarah McGregor, Leighton Howindt, Katie Britton, Trent Hendrick, Lilly Woolmering and Tosh Greenslade