Designworks Makes A Slam Dunk With Hire Of Former Wookiee In Strategy Role

Designworks Makes A Slam Dunk With Hire Of Former Wookiee In Strategy Role
B&T Magazine
By B&T Magazine



Designworks let the force be with it when it hired its latest senior strategist, Axel Dench, who, in a former life, played chief warrior Wookiee as well as shooting hoops as an NBL player.

As a senior strategist Dench will lead client engagements and will be heavily involved in new business development.

“Our strategy and design teams form a world-class combination,” explained Designworks Australia Managing Director Brad Doble.  “They have brilliant talent, great vision and work across an enviable client base.  Axel brings a range of valuable experience – both agency-specific and broader life experiences –  to this team and his strategic vision is one that aligns with our focus on brand experience.

Dench said of his appointment:  “Designworks’ ability to shape and create brand experiences for their clients audiences across every touch point, is something that particularly attracted me to the organisation. I’m looking forward to adopting their user-centric design approach, to develop physical and digital recommendations for clients.”

Dench without all his Wookiee hair.

Dench without all his Wookiee hair.

Dench brings many years’ of experience working with blue chip Australian brands, and was central to the repositioning of CUB following its carve out of Treasury Wine Estates. Having worked in several communications agencies, he also brings additional capabilities in brand strategy activation.

In addition to his agency experience, Dench also brings unique perspective to the business having spent more than 14 years playing professional basketball.  During this time he also dabbled in professional acting, most notably playing Merumeru – chief warrior of the Wookiees – in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

“The Star Wars and basketball experiences were great in that they taught me the value of applied creative thinking.  Knowing that this type of thinking was the platform for any success, I started to get more involved in strategy based work.  I’m excited to have the opportunity to apply this varied experience at Designworks, an agency that has been at the forefront of design innovation over the years,” he said.




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