The Monkeys Melbourne bosses, CEO Paul McMillan, chief creative officer Ant Keogh, and chief strategy officer Michael Derepas, are reportedly departing to start their own agency.
The trio had previously worked at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne as MD, CCO, and planning director but departed in 2017 to lead The Monkeys’ Melbourne office.
The news follows a stellar 2023 for the Accenture Song agency but also a period of change.
It was announced earlier this year that Mark Green would be departing The Monkeys to head up fellow Accenture Song agency Droga5 globally. The Monkeys itself will be changing its name to Droga5 Australia in December.
Current MD Matt Michael will become CEO of Droga5. Bronwyn van der Merwe, currently the service practice lead at Accenture Song ANZ, will become the Accenture Song lead for ANZ.
“We’re really lucky to be inheriting a really successful business,” van der Merwe told B&T earlier this month.
“We certainly don’t want to rip [the rulebook] up. We’ve got incredible people, incredible capabilities and incredible clients. Of course, there are always opportunities to do things better, to stitch together our end-to-end proposition to drive purpose-led growth for our clients more effectively, to bring brand and experience together to help our clients achieve their goals.”
A spokesperson confirmed McMillan, Keogh and Derepas’ move to Little Black Book, saying, “We can confirm that Ant Keogh, Paul McMillan and Michael Derepas are departing The Monkeys, and we wish them all the best for their future endeavours.”
