Aussie expat Wayne Deakin departs AKQA London for executive CD role at Huge EMEA

Global brand experience agency Huge has appointed Aussie expat Wayne Deakin as executive creative director to head up its EMEA offering. At Huge, Deakin will work alongside managing director Mark Manning across the full client base and will be responsible for delivering the creative vision for the agency in the region.

Originally from Australia, Deakin is a past AWARD student who has held leadership positions in Australia, US, Europe and the UK. He joins the IPG owned agency from AKQA where he was the ECD for its London office.

Says Mark Manning, managing director, Huge London: “Creating truly unified brand experiences that seamlessly connect the physical world and digital world has become the number one priority for our clients both in the UK and across Europe. Wayne brings an outstanding track record across digital, innovation and communications, and crucially his understanding of how to harness creativity to connect and elevate experiences made him the perfect addition to spearhead the next phase of Huge’s European growth.”

Says Deakin: “I’ve long admired Huge, its work and its success. It is a very modern agency that values solving business problems with creativity and craft. It boldly creates products, services and experiences people love and puts consumers at the heart of everything it does – that aligns with how I think and how successful brands work today. I am thrilled to be joining the team at a very exciting time of growth.”

Deakin is a highly awarded and innovative creative who previously served as ECD for AKQA London and helped the agency win numerous titles and awards.. Prior to AKQA he was the joint ECD for the Engine Group and creative founder of Jam.

Huge was founded in Brooklyn in 1999, it launched in London in 2011, and now employs 1,500 people across 12 offices with offices based in Europe, the United States, Latin America and Asia.