Simon Langley has joined Bastion as group chief creative officer, Australia, and Partner after almost two years at independent creative agency Edge.
Langley joins recent high profile hires Angela Morris (national chief strategy officer) and Ana Lynch (Sydney managing partner) – pictured, who along with CEO Mike Godwin round out the new leadership team, charged with taking the Bastion Creative business to the next level.
L-R in photo: Simon Langley, Angela Morris and Ana Lynch
In his new role, Langley will lead the creative offering of Bastion Creative, but his role will extend across the group to help define, drive, unite and support the creative ambition of the other Bastion capabilities and ensure their clients benefit from seamlessly integrated ideas.
Speaking about Langley’s appointment, Mike Godwin said: “Simon has been successfully leading creative departments for over a decade. He has a reputation for being an open, positive collaborator both within the agency and with clients, and is equally passionate about delivering memorable and highly effective work.”
Prior to Edge, Langley spent over six years as National CCO of Wunderman Thompson, leading the agency through one of their most successful creative periods, picking up multiple Cannes Lions, pencils at D&AD and The One Show NYC, Grand Prix at Spikes Asia for both Creative and Effectiveness and Effies among others. Langley has also held creative leadership roles at 303 MullenLowe helping the agency double in size before the acquisition by Lowe and over six years at BMF, three as creative director, helping win multiple Agency of the Year titles and Agency of the Decade.
Langley commented: “I certainly wasn’t looking to make a move, but Bastion is a business I’ve been watching gain serious momentum in this market and beyond. I’m excited to be a part of an independent with global reach and such a wide breadth of deep specialist capabilities, able to bring ideas and experiences to life seamlessly across every touch point. It’s no surprise they’ve attracted truly great talent, some of whom I’ve worked with for many years, created great work with and just as importantly, had a huge amount of fun with. It’s this combination of factors that made it very hard to say no.”
In addition to Langley’s appointment, Bastion’s creative credentials were further bolstered recently through the acquisition of New Zealand independent, Shine, now Bastion Shine. The Bastion creative offering across ANZ now exceeds 100 staff and boasts an enviable client list including Air New Zealand, Alinta Energy, Cancer Institute NSW, Baby Bunting, Unilever, Tower Insurance, Spark, and multiple Government departments.
Continued Langley: “From my first meeting with Jack, hearing his vision for the group and their creative ambition, it felt like a place I could really make a difference and be part of that journey. The opportunities across the group are enormous and I can’t wait to get stuck in.”
Jack Watts, Global CEO of Bastion added: “We are thrilled to welcome a creative leader of Simon’s calibre into the Bastion group. Simon’s track record of nurturing creative minds to deliver truly world class work is among the best in the region. Combining this with our creative firepower in New Zealand will elevate our business to one of the finest creative agencies in the region. We are confident this will not only take our creative work to another level, but the entire Bastion business globally.”
