After a year at VCCP, Sydney ECD Mark Harricks departs for senior role at Assignment Group in NZ

March 13 2016, 5:51 pm | BY Lynchy | 10 Comments

Mark_HARRICKS-Landscape[1].jpgA year after joining VCCP Australia as executive creative director, Mark Harricks has departed for a senior creative role at Assignment Group in Auckland.

Harricks told CB: “I’m really excited to be back in NZ working with some of the smartest people I know, a grown up place that works solely for the purpose of making a difference to our clients business.”

At VCCP, Harricks had been joint executive creative director working alongside ECD Dean Hunt. The latter departed in February for the creative director role at J Walter Thompson, Perth.

One of the most awarded and respected creative leaders in Australia, Harricks – who previously was ECD at The Works, Sydney –  has built his reputation in the region at JWT, DDB and Clemenger BBDO.

Harricks has worked at some of the most well known agencies in the UK, New Zealand and Australia. As ECD at JWT Sydney he oversaw a creative repositioning of the agency in addition to the launch of its Perth office and sitting on the JWT Australian and New Zealand board. He made a significant impact on the work this year with JWT becoming one of the most awarded agencies in Australia at Cannes. Prior to that he was creative director at DDB Sydney for almost three years helping grow it to become one of the biggest in the region.

From 2001 to 2008 he was creative director at Clemenger BBDO Wellington which was the most highly awarded agency in the most highly awarded network (BBDO) at Cannes in 2007. At Clems he worked under Philip ‘Duster’ Andrew, who departed the agency last year to join Assignment Group as ECD, setting in train the latest move by Harricks.

He has also worked at FCB Sydney, George Patterson Bates Sydney and TBWA GGT Simons Palmer in London.

 

During his career he has received wide industry recognition including winning a highly coveted Cannes Titanium Integrated Lion in addition to D&AD, Clio, One Show and AWARD accolades. Up until late last year he was chairman of Australian Writers and Art Directors (AWARD) and has been on the national board for the Communications Council.