Wavemaker Australia’s former national head of strategy James Boardman is returning to the agency to take up the newly created role of national strategy partner.

Boardman is rejoining Wavemaker from Bohemia Group, where he has been national strategy director for close to a year.

Prior to Bohemia, he spent eight years with Wavemaker and previously MEC, in London and Sydney.

He moved to Australia in 2014 and led the roll-out of Wavemaker’s approach to understanding people’s decision-making processes – Wavemaker Momentum – across Australia and New Zealand.

As part of the Wavemaker global planning team from 2015 to 2018, Boardman helped build Wavemaker Momentum into one of the industry’s most powerful sources of insight into how people really make decisions between brands.

In his new role, Boardman will be a strategic support for regional and global pitches, as well as supporting local key clients in Australia and New Zealand. Over his career he has worked with clients including Nestlé, Colgate-Palmolive, Vodafone, Allianz, Orange, Tesco, Johnson & Johnson, Michelin and Tiffany.

Wavemaker chief growth & product officer James Hier said: “The entire Wavemaker team and I are excited to welcome James back to the fold. Not only is he incredibly talented and possesses one of the finest strategic minds in the business, he’s also an absolute pleasure to work with.

“In everything he does, James constantly challenges himself, his team and our clients – trying new things, testing new approaches and pushing the boundaries on what is possible. I can’t wait to see the value he will add to Wavemaker clients, both locally and globally.”

James Boardman added: “I’ve spent half my career with Wavemaker, previously MEC, and it’s fair to say this has always felt like home for me. In Wavemaker Momentum, we have an extremely valuable resource that delivers proven results for clients, and I look forward to working with the teams across Australia and in the region to deliver further innovations and best-in-class solutions to all our clients. It’s great to be back.”