NZ’s Matt Shirtcliffe to chair South African Loeries in Live Events, Direct and PR categories

Matt Shirtcliffe, creative director of New Zealand indie Shirtcliffe and Co, is bound for Johannesburg in July as an overseas Chair of the Loeries Awards, where he’ll oversee juries for the Live Events, Direct and PR categories.

He chaired the awards two years ago and says he’s very pleased to be invited back: “They do some world class work over there, so I’m looking forward to seeing more. And the trip will come at a good time, at the end of our first year.”

Since launching, the business has grown steadily, maintaining its focus largely on clients with ties to the land. In February they were joined by Jane Eagles, former GM at AIM Proximity, where she worked with Shirtcliffe for many years.

Says Shirtcliffe: “We’re really lucky to now have Jane involved. She has loads of experience, a complementary skill set, passion for the land, and having worked together on so many campaigns in the past we’ve been able to naturally pick up where we left off.”

Shirtcliffe’s wife Mary is also playing a key part in the business, applying her background as a farmer and rural adviser, and combining it with their ongoing interest in sheep and beef farming in southern Hawke’s Bay.

“She’s on the farm at the moment and I think she’s missing her desk job – reckons it’s blowing dogs off chains.”