Ogilvy Melbourne snares McCann Melbourne group CD David Ponce de León for ECD role

| | 62 Comments

David_Ponce_De_Leon_021.jpgCB Exclusive – Campaign Brief can reveal that McCann Melbourne group creative director David Ponce de León, has been lured to fill the ECD role at Ogilvy Melbourne, left vacant after the departure of Brendon Guthrie in July.

Jo Rozario, Group Managing Director, Ogilvy Melbourne said she was thrilled that Ponce de León was joining Ogilvy Melbourne’s team and it was another step to ensure Ogilvy Melbourne would continue to produce world class creative work for its clients: “David is an internationally renowned creative and he brings another level of talent to our team in Melbourne. We are looking forward to some outstanding creative work and a seamless collaboration between Melbourne and Sydney’s creative teams; it is an exciting time for Ogilvy and its clients.”

At McCann Melbourne, Ponce de León was part of a major overhaul of its creative department and an aggressive new business program, developing high profile campaigns for AGL, L’Oreal, Metro, Nimble, Tigerair, V/Line and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.

Before joining McCann Melbourne, he served as founding creative director of BD Network Australia. Under his direction, the agency was recognized with AdNews’ Agency of the Year titles for three consecutive years and named ‘Australia’s most awarded small agency’, with a raft of creativity and effectiveness accolades to their name including D&AD, Effies, MAA, NYF and AWARD.

On joining Ogilvy Melbourne, Ponce de León said: “Leading the creative team in an Ogilvy office anywhere in the world is an immense privilege I don’t take lightly. I feel very lucky to be asked to lead Ogilvy Melbourne’s already very talented creative team.

“I have long admired Jo’s work and the opportunity to be part of this ambitious leadership team was simply too good to refuse. The decision to leave McCann wasn’t an easy one, but it felt like the perfect time for me to fulfill a long-standing career ambition”.

Ponce de León has received awards in every major international advertising award show with work for brands such as Adidas, Heinz, Mars, Nintendo, Schweppes, Suzuki, Whiskas, WorkSafe and the Victorian Government.

For the past decade, Ponce de León has also been active in training the next generation of Australian creative talent through his role leading the Melbourne AWARD School program and most recently as the head of ADMA Creative School.