Aussie expat Stuart Harricks departs Y&R New York for Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam CD role

Aussie expat Stuart Harricks has joined Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam as creative director. He leaves Y&R’s New York office, where he was global CD for LG worldwide, LG US Mobile and the United States Olympic Committee.

Harricks – brother of Mark  Harricks, the joint ECD of JWT Sydney – is a former senior creative at Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore, who eaves behind his creative partner Andrew McKechnie, another former Singapore creative who has also worked in NZ.

Recent work for LG included the award-winning ‘Something’s Lurking’ film, created with PSYOP New York. Before Y&R, Stuart served as an Integrated ACD at Modernista! Boston, where he helped integrate the agency’s above the line and digital creative across the Palm, Cadillac and National Parks Foundation accounts.

Harricks began his career by cutting his teeth as a junior art director at Leo Burnett Sydney, shortly after reaching a Top 10 position at AWARD School. After stints at Lowe Singapore & Malaysia, and Dentsu Singapore, Harricks spent four years at Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore where he contributed to Saatchi’s No.1 Agency ranking in the 2008 Campaign Brief Asia Creative Rankings and his No.12 position overall in the individual creatives ranking.

Harricks left Saatchi’s for the States four years ago, where he first served as Integrated ACD at Modernista! Boston, helping integrate the agency’s above the line and digital creative across the Palm, Cadillac and National Parks Foundation accounts. 

Says Harricks: “It’s a great time to be joining W+K Amsterdam, as they’ve created some of the most inspiring work of late. It’s a place with such a unique culture of mixing skills and personalities, and I’m just excited to be a part of it all.”

At W+K Stuart will be working with new partner Creative Director Edu Pou.

W+K Amsterdam executive creative directors Mark Bernath and Eric Quennoy – the latter also an Aussie expat – said: “Stuart is a brilliant non-traditional thinker. His extensive international experience will make him a great complement to the creative leadership of the agency. What’s more, he has exceptional hair.”