CB Exclusive: DDB Sydney CCO Toby Talbot to depart to partner Peter Biggs and Duster Andrew at Assignment NZ in managing partner role
CB Exclusive – Toby Talbot has resigned as chief creative officer, DDB Sydney, a role he took up in May 2014, and will be taking up a new leadership role as managing partner, Assignment Auckland, partnering up with Peter Biggs and Duster Andrew.
Says Marty O’Halloran, chairman, DDB Group Australia and New Zealand: “DDB Sydney is in great shape and I am immensely proud of what Toby Talbot, Andrew Little and Nicole Taylor have achieved as a team in the last two years. Toby has created an outstanding creative culture that extends throughout all parts of the organisation and is evidenced by the campaigns we are now producing.
“Naturally, we are very disappointed to lose Toby. I have personally worked with him for nearly 10 years across two agencies. He has unquestionably done a brilliant job in Sydney and leaves behind a very strong creative department with a lot of outstanding talent to continue the creative trajectory. We will announce Toby’s replacement in the coming weeks. Toby will always be very much a part of the DDB family and we respect his decision to return to New Zealand.”
Says Talbot: “It was a hard decision to leave behind such a strong and talented team doing such interesting and diverse work for great clients, but the opportunity to take on a broader leadership role alongside two industry legends feels like an exciting new chapter in my life. Assignment enjoys a unique position in the market. I can’t wait to be a part of it. I have also been commuting between Sydney and Auckland every week for nearly two years now. Much though I’ll miss my friends at DDB Sydney, I am more than ready to swap a Boeing 737 for the Devonport ferry.”
CB understands DDB Sydney is close to announcing Talbot”s replacement.
Says Andrew Little, CEO, DDB Group Australia: “Toby has achieved many great things during his time at DDB Sydney and we respect and understand his decision. He is a good friend and will be missed.
“I believe this is the plum creative lead job in Australia, leading some of the globe’s most powerful brands including Telstra, McDonald’s, Westpac, Volkswagen and Wrigley’s, to name but a few. DDB Sydney is one of the most creatively resourced and highest performing creative agencies within the global DDB network so we are looking for one of the world’s best creative leaders to fill this role.”
Duster told CB: “We are very happy to have Toby join Assignment. He is hugely respected and will make an enormous contribution to our clients business.
“Toby will join us in a few weeks as managing partner complimenting our team of Martin Yeoman, Jamie Hitchcock and Mark Harricks.”
Previous to his role at DDB Sydney Talbot was chief creative officer at Whybin\TBWA Auckland, a role he took on in early 2013. He returned to the DDB fold in May last year and was previously group ECD of the NZ office for five years – with a year stint at RKCR/Y&R in London.
23 Comments
Well that will start a mass exodus as they are all Toby’s hires. A creative department who work 7 days a week wont be hanging around long after he’s gone.
Toby, you are a legend, a true gentleman indeed. A shame you are departing these shore but all the best.
Marty when will you realise that DDB Sydney has a problem. The revolving door will only get busier if its not acknowledged and fixed.
sounds like a very exciting challenge Toby. And a lot less travel. You, Peter and Duster will do great things. Good hunting.
Agree. Marty, please realise your problem isn’t the creative department. You have had absolute guns come and go and they’ve done exceptionally well despite the wet blankets thrown at them. Surely it’s the other 2/3rds of the business that isn’t working, ie the suits. Rotten as a bag of fruit.
Shame to lose someone as talented as Toby. Australia could have done much more with him.
@Not good – don’t blame Marty!
Toby swung that revolving door harder than ever before against a department that put in a record show at Cannes the year before his announcement and a not-too-shabby showing just before his arrival so I’m not sure the doom and gloom is completely warranted.
Not trying to be a mole but let’s get some perspective from the facts,
That said, I wish Toby well in his next endeavour in NZ.
Fella, congrats on the new Gig..great agency! Just don’t swap the Chelsea blue for Leicester City next season! All the best with the move home..
It’s getting close to the end of financial year, so time for the big shops to start shuffling the decks. Who is next?
When a junior suit has more power than a CD and above, there’s a problem.
A creative department who work 7 days a week is not a very well run creative department. Just saying, I’m just another ECD.
I think its more that its a massively under resourced department…
The number of Suits v creatives is so out of balance its insane.
Its just another creative agency being run by people who have no idea on how to run a creative agency.
And yes agree, junior suites who have more power than a CD… Recipe for disaster
The ultimate success of a Creative Department is intrinsically linked:
– on a day to day basis, to the quality of the suits
– in an overall sense, to the quality of it’s agency CEO/MD
Without both of these functioning well, the best CCO/ECD and Creative Department in the world is operating with hands well and truly tied behind their collective backs.
Time to make some calls – and fast.
Not to stop the ragging on DDB, but well done Toby – this is a big thing and I can’t wait to see the work.
You’re clearly an art-based chap.
Wow, the creative vs account management thing is alive and well at DDB Sydney I see. TT’s always played the game well, getting many on side yet in turn creating factions in an agency, and AL just hasn’t managed to lead the troops yet. Certainly the creative team are winning in the comments above!
@Old Master, if you are an old master you probably don’t know what its like to work in the current environment, where agencies are paid less and less to do more and more labour intensive work – being told to be ‘nimble’ while simultaneously made to jump through more and more strategy / research / etc hoops . I know it’s always seemed a hectic business but in the old days ‘busy’ meant you could only go to a long lunch TWO days a week.
Three males running an agency in this day and age. Surely that will never work. I mean clients and staff will go nowhere near it. Right?
DDB continues to be the sinking ship so these overboard jumps have no reason discontinue. The creatives have a real problem on their hands there as they essentially end up having their ideas diluted by suits that hold way to much sway, regardless of experience. Sad state of affairs.
Some good reading material for you:
http://bit.ly/1WEr8SL
Toby, you are a great man, a great man to work with. All who have worked with you will say the same… And that is… Good luck on this next adventure and may it be amazing not only for you but for your amazing family.
Good luck pal and your family deserve to have you hame
A sinking ship indeed and only enough life rafts for the creatives. Management need to take a good hard look at how they’re running that ship – it aint going anywhere but down.
Everyone is creative at DDB
The creative exodus has begun.
Surely not, we all know about you,and you are the weakest of gruels