After six years as Chair of the Australian Effie Awards, Matthew Melhuish, Group CEO of Enero, has handed over the reins of the Effies Chairmanship to Anthony Freedman, Group CEO, Host and One Green Bean.

Previously AFA Effectiveness Chair and responsible for introducing the Effie Awards to the Australian market, Matthew has played an instrumental role in promoting the value of Australian agencies and showcasing the important link between creativity and effectiveness for more than a decade.

Under Matthew’s Chairmanship, entries to the Australian Effie Awards have almost doubled since inception and have come to be regarded by advertisers and agencies as the pre-eminent awards in the marketing communications industry.

Melhuish said: “When you combine the Effies and the AFA awards I have served around ten years as Effectiveness Chair and it is time for a change. I am delighted to welcome Anthony Freedman as the new Australian Effies Chair and am certain that his talent, experience and passion will see support for the Effie Awards continue to grow. There is a great team behind the awards and Colin Wilson Brown, Jo Libline and Tony Hale will all continue to support Anthony as they did me.”

Freedman said: “This is an exciting opportunity at a time when effectiveness and accountability in marketing communications have never been more important. The Effies play a critical role in raising the level of professional competency across our industry, focusing us all on becoming better at constructing and arguing our case for the investment of marketing funds in boardrooms.”

Recognised in more than 40 countries, the annual awards are presented to recognise the year’s most effective advertising and marketing communications campaigns – campaigns that have delivered superior results in meeting the objectives they were designed to achieve.