Digital marketing and social media agency Hello has appointed senior marketer David Griffiths as managing director. The appointment follows last week’s hire of WPP executive Caroline Berdayes as chief financial and operating officer.
Griffiths brings more than 20 years’ experience leading brands, agencies and commercial growth across the Asia-Pacific region.
He has held senior marketing roles at Uber and Samsung, and most recently served as the director of brand and creative services at Stan.
His career spans both agency and client leadership, beginning at global agency Iris, where he served as managing partner.
In his new role, Griffiths will lead Hello’s creative agency and integrated offering, working alongside director of social and talent Ben Stavert to further unite the agency’s strategy, creative, social, influencer, events, production, PR and media & measurement capabilities. He will focus on deepening strategic client partnerships, growing the agency’s integrated proposition and ensuring the voice of the client, brand and customer sits at the centre of every engagement.
Hello CEO Sam Kelly said Griffiths’ appointment reflects the agency’s continued investment in building an integrated creative company for the digital era.
“David is one of those rare leaders who has built brands from the inside and outside. He’s sat in the boardroom making marketing investment decisions, and he’s led agency teams responsible for delivering the work. That perspective is incredibly valuable in today’s market, where clients expect partners to understand both commercial realities and creative ambition,” Kelly said.
“Throughout his career, David has consistently built high-performing teams, grown businesses and helped both challenger and category-leading brands solve meaningful commercial challenges. He’s an exceptional operator with a rare ability to raise standards, develop people and create environments where teams do the best work of their careers.
“Just as importantly, David shares our belief that the future belongs to agencies capable of solving bigger business problems, not just delivering campaigns. His leadership will strengthen our culture, deepen our client partnerships and elevate the quality of thinking and creativity across the agency, helping us deliver work that creates lasting commercial impact.”
Griffiths said the opportunity to join Hello came at a time when the industry was being fundamentally reshaped.
“The lines between creativity, social, media, creators, production and technology have all but disappeared. Clients don’t need more specialist agencies; they need partners who can bring those capabilities together to solve bigger business problems,” he said.
“What attracted me to Hello was its ambition and its willingness to challenge the traditional agency model. The business has built an incredible reputation across social, content, earned and influencer marketing, and now has the opportunity to become one of Australia’s leading integrated creative agencies.”
This year, Hello, which has 70 staff, added FujiFilm Australia, CommBank, Amazon, Dry July, 4Pines and Wingstop international to its client book, which includes Uber, Paramount+, Audible, BMW, Network 10, Under Armour, Paramount Pictures, Budget Direct, Kimberly Clark, Rebel Sport, Afterpay, LiquidIV and Kmart.
