Smart Departs Colenso BBDO To Take Up Role In US

Media Release
13 November 2009

Smart Departs Colenso BBDO To Take Up Role In US

Colenso BBDO will be bidding farewell to managing director Brent Smart at the end of this year as he departs to head up BBDO West, based in San Francisco.

His departure comes after close to five years with the agency which today lays claim to all four Agency of the Year titles.

“It’s incredibly gut wrenching for me to leave Colenso BBDO. I have loved every minute of my time here and we have built a very special agency. I’ll really miss the great partnership of Nick Worthington and James Hurman and even though he’s not around as much anymore, my very special mentor and mate Rog MacDonnell. But I’ll miss everyone who works at Colenso and all our clients.

“I’ve always wanted to work in the States and it says a lot about Colenso BBDO that it has been the right platform for me to get there. The West Coast of the States is a really progressive market with some great work coming out of it, so I’m excited to be joining BBDO West and staying part of the network that I love. And it’s hard to find a cooler city in the world than San Francisco.

Smart joined Colenso BBDO in 2005 as Group Account Director. In 2007, aged 33 he was made Managing Director. Under Smart, the agency has won significant pieces of business including Vodafone, Yellow and TVNZ.

Jim Moser, Clemenger Group’s New Zealand CEO says the contribution made by Brent to the business is massive.

“When I arrived here a year ago, Brent made it very clear that he had a desire to work in the United States beginning in 2010 – five years after starting at Colenso BBDO. While we did not want to lose Brent, he had career aspirations that needed to be satisfied. The key thing was trying to keep him in the BBDO network which we’ve accomplished successfully,” says Jim.

“Brent has not only had a massive impact on Colenso BBDO, he has had a major impact on the industry in New Zealand. Brent leaves Colenso BBDO in a very strong place with an amazing team of people absolutely passionate about the work and the results we get for our clients. We wish Brent all the best at BBDO West – he has a great career ahead of him.”

When asked to name the work he is most proud of Smart cites Yellow Treehouse, Deadline Courier’s exploding billboard and Vodafone Fold (now running in eight markets).

Smart concludes by commenting: “I will also miss New Zealand way more than I ever thought I would, as a proud Aussie. It’s a really special place to work and one of the most creative places on the planet. I feel very lucky to have worked here.”

An announcement regarding Brent’s replacement will be made over the coming weeks.

Ends.

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