Ex Clemenger BBDO, Sydney’s Paul Nagy takes chief creative officer role at Y&R Australia

Australia: Paul Nagy, ex ECD of Clemenger BBDO Sydney, has been appointed CCO of Y&R Australia, a role previously held by Ben Coulsen, who joined Clemenger BBDO, Sydney in early December last year in the role of CCO. Nagy will lead the creative vision for Y&R clients in the three Y&R Australia offices. He will report to Josh Moore, regional CCO of Y&R ANZ  and will be based in Sydney.

Nagy spent 10 years at Clemenger BBDO Sydney until his departure in late November last year, including a stint as CD of Clemenger Wellington, stepping down last September. Under Nagy’s creative leadership, Clemenger Sydney enjoyed unprecedented new business success winning high profile clients; Virgin, Tourism Australia, TAB and Campbells/Arnotts. He also engineered a creative turnaround, lifting the agency to no. 6 on the Campaign Brief Australia Hot List in 2016 and winning the Adnews Campaign of the Year for Masterfoods ‘Make Dinnertime Matter’.

Says Moore: “Paul is exactly the leader that Phil and I have been looking for the last 8 months. He shares our philosophy of creating brilliant work for our biggest clients that drives exceptional ROI.”

In a refreshed management lineup in the Sydney office, Nagy joins Sydney MD, Sasha Firth who was promoted to the role in August last year and will work with current ECD’s Bart Pawlak and Dave Joubert.

Says Nagy, on joining Y&R: “The thing that struck me most about meeting the team at Y&R (both locally and internationally) was their excitement. Like me, they don’t use a lot of big ad words, but are just genuinely passionate and excited about inspiring a culture that strives to create interesting, hard working brands for our clients. The agencies, both here and in NZ, have a history of doing some of the best work in the world, so I’ll be doing my best to continue that across Australia long into the future.”

Says Phil McDonald, CEO, Y&R ANZ: “We are enjoying some great momentum across the region at the moment and Paul’s appointment is part of an on-going investment in world class creative talent. He brings with him a level of creative astuteness that I know all our clients in Australia will value.”

Says Tony Granger, global chief creative officer, Y&R: “Paul is a great talent in our business.  He’s smart and strategic and has a prodigious, award-winning body of work to show for it.  Critically, he embodies the values we share across the network — collaborative, kind to people, and someone who inspires his teams to hold themselves to the highest creative standards. We are delighted to welcome him.”