Smart confirmed for BBDO San Francisco

CB NZ had this the other day,and now it’s official: Colenso BBDO, Auckland will be bidding farewell tomanaging director Brent Smart at the end of this year as he departs tohead up BBDO West, based in San Francisco.

His departure comes after close to five years with the agency which today lays claim to all four Agency of the Year titles.  

“It’sincredibly gut wrenching for me to leave Colenso BBDO.  I have lovedevery minute of my time here and we have built a very special agency. I’ll really miss the great partnership of Nick Worthington and JamesHurman and even though he’s not around as much anymore, my very specialmentor and mate Rog MacDonnell. But I’ll miss everyone who works atColenso and all our clients.

Smart joined Colenso BBDO in 2005 as group account director. In 2007,aged 33 he was made managing director.  Under Smart, the agency has wonsignificant pieces of business including Vodafone, Yellow and TVNZ.

Jim Moser, Clemenger Group’s New Zealand CEO says the contribution madeby Smart to the business is massive: “When I arrived here a year ago,Brent made it very clear that he had a desire to work in the UnitedStates beginning in 2010 – five years after starting at Colenso BBDO. While we did not want to lose Brent, he had career aspirations thatneeded to be satisfied.  The key thing was trying to keep him in theBBDO network which we’ve accomplished successfully,” says Jim.

“Brent has not only had a massive impact on Colenso BBDO, he has had amajor impact on the industry in New Zealand.  Brent leaves Colenso BBDOin a very strong place with an amazing team of people absolutelypassionate about the work and the results we get for our clients.   Wewish Brent all the best at BBDO West – he has a great career ahead ofhim.”  

When asked to name the work he is most proud of Smart cites YellowTreehouse, Deadline Courier’s exploding billboard and Vodafone Fold(now running in eight markets).

Says Smart: “I will also miss New Zealand way more than I ever thoughtI would, as a proud Aussie.  It’s a really special place to work andone of the most creative places on the planet. I feel very lucky tohave worked here.”

An announcement regarding Smart’s replacement will be made over the coming weeks.