Wunderman national ECD Matt Batten to group chief creative officer role at Wunderman UK

Wunderman national executive creative director Matt Batten has transferred to London to take the group chief creative officer role at the agency network’s operations in the UK.

Batten reports to new chief executive Mel Cruikshank and will oversee the creative product for Wunderman London, Blast Radius, Burrows and KBM Group. Wunderman London ECD David Harris will report to Batten.

Batten joined Wunderman Sydney as CD in January 2009, soon promoted to national executive creative director. Battenwas previously a member of award-winning DM teams at BMF and Saatchi& Saatchi. He was also a past chairman of the ADMA Agency Council and a keyplayer in the DM Creative School.

Says Cruickshank: “Matt has earned a global reputation for being an uncompromising champion for great creativity. His experience, knowledge of digital creativity, and never-ending drive will help make our creative reputation stronger than ever.”

Says Jo Lloyd, managing director of Wunderman Sydney: “I’m delighted that Matt Batten has been recognised for the true creative talent that he is. Matt’s been instrumental in building Wunderman’s foundations and its creative excellence in Australia. Transitioning to the UK is a great example of the benefit our people can achieve from being part of our global network.”

Batten served as a Cannes Lions Direct juror in 2011 and has appeared twice on the popular Australian TV show The Gruen Transfer. Batten was named Digital Creative of the Year in 2010 by Campaign magazine Asia. He was the driving force behind impressive campaigns on behalf of Earth Hour and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8. Before joining Wunderman, Batten served as group creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi. Prior to that, he was at BMF in Sydney for five years. For eight years, Batten served as head lecturer at the DM Creative School in Sydney and is currently a member of Wunderman’s Creative Council.

Says Daniel Morel, Wunderman’s chairman and CEO: “Matt is the sort of star that emerges from a global digital network like Wunderman. He brings to his new clients in London a global perspective and fresh ideas that they require to do business successfully. Matt knows that creativity is business critical across the spectrum and he’ll demonstrate it to our clients and colleagues alike.”