HOWCROFT TAKES THE REINS AT GEORGE PATTERSON Y&R MELBOURNE

September 21 2006, 5:35 pm | BY campaignbrief | 19 Comments

Russel Howcroft has been named chairman and managing director of George Patterson Y&R Melbourne, succeeding Anthony Heraghty, who has taken a senior role at GPYR client Foster’s Australia.

Howcroft has been CEO of The Furnace, the Havas-owed agency he co-founded as Leonardi Brandhouse in 1995. He has also worked for McCann Erickson and Lowe Howard-Spink in London and did a previous stint at George Patterson. He is the current chairman of the Advertising Federation of Australia.

Y&R Brands CEO Matt McGrath said Howcroft was the standout candidate for the post.

“Russel has the perfect blend of business acumen and creative appreciation needed to lead our team in Melbourne.

“Leonardi Brandhouse was a creative hotshop in its day, ranking in the Top 10 in the country. Russel’s experience at Lowe, one of the UK’s premier agencies where he worked on icon brands like Stella Artois, Lloyds Bank, Reebok and Coca-Cola, reinforces his great business and creative credentials”, said McGrath.

As Chairman of the AFA Howcroft has addressed a number of major industry issues, from self-regulation to agency remuneration; helped build a strong relationship with the AANA (Australian Association of National Advertisers), and launched the world’s first agency accreditation programme. He is a founding Member of Media Team, an organization that assists not-for-profits with their media and marketing endeavours, a Board Member of The Melbourne Arts Festival and a founder of the Carbon Trading business EMIT.

Howcroft said he was looking forward to joining the GPY&R Melbourne team.

“It’s clearly the best agency in the market. The work, the thinking and its track record speaks for itself.”