Karl Fleet departs Clemenger BBDO Adelaide; Matt O’Grady takes over creative director role + Ollie Prenton takes up senior creative position

Clemenger BBDO Adelaide has announced the appointment of Matt O’Grady (right) as creative director.

O’Grady replaces Karl Fleet (below), who has returned to his home town of Auckland after just over a year in the role – for family reasons. 

Fleet told CB that is doing some work out of Special at the moment.

Before joining Clems from The Campaign Palace in May last year, the multi-awarded Fleet had been at Colenso BBDO, Auckland since March, 2008, joining from Publicis Mojo, Auckland. 

Says Fleet: “My family moved back to Auckland two months ago. It was time for me to put them first and follow them.  I’m proud of the work I did in Australia and looking forward to spending time with them and seeing what challenges pop up next.”

Clemenger BBDO Adelaide managing director Bryce Coombe said that O’Grady was an easy choice for the role.

Says Coombe: “Matt has been with the agency for over ten years and he has been responsible for much of our best work in that time. He is an incredible creative talent, which is obviously an important prerequisite for the role, but more than that, Matt is also the right person to lead us in the digital era.”

O’Grady and his creative partner, Ollie Prenton (top left), recently set a new record in Adelaide for most awards won by one campaign at the AADC awards with their Fantastic Delites ‘Delite-o-matic’ sampling campaign which became a YouTube sensation.

O’Grady, who worked in agencies in Melbourne and Adelaide before joining Clemenger BBDO, said that he was looking forward to the next stage of his career.

Says O’Grady: “It’s an exciting time to be in our industry and to be in our agency. Obviously I want to help the agency do the best creative work possible but I’m also looking forward to getting more involved with our clients and having a better understanding of their problems and ways in which we can make meaningful contributions to their businesses.”

Prenton, who has been O’Grady’s creative partner for the last two years, has been moved into a senior creative role with a digital emphasis.

Says O’Grady: “In many ways, Ollie has led our creative charge into digital. We’re fortunate to have someone of his enormous creative and digital skills and I will continue to work closely with Ollie.”