Independent creative agency Bullfrog has announced its new partnership team, including Saatchi & Saatchi duo Simon Bagnasco (centre left) and Alex Speakman (right) and recently appointed MD Matilda Hobba (centre right).
Speakman is currently Saatchi & Saatchi’s chief strategy officer for its Toyota account, while Bagnasco is the agency’s head of creativity. Their appointments are effective May. Speakman joined the Publicis-owned agency 12 years ago while Bagnasco came aboard in 2017.
Their work helped Saatchi & Saatchi reach number seven in the WARC’s World Creative rankings last year and make it the most awarded APAC agency.
“My vision of us being a world-class creative business requires world-class people,” said Dalton Henshaw, founder and CEO of Bullfrog (above left).
“In just two years, we have built a diverse and talented crew of 40, and today, I’m thrilled to officially announce my new business partners in Matilda, Simon and Alex, whose global experience and leadership in the creative world will help us achieve our world-class ambitions.
“Bullfrog has never aspired to operate in the traditional ways of the serviced- based agency models. For 12-months, I have met with some of the most renowned people our industry in a quest to solidify the right team. From one meeting with Tilly, Simon and Alex, it was evident that the vision to break the shackles of how things have always been done, was shared. However, what makes this partnership even more effortless was the alignment on our existing ambitions of being a team who supercharges our clients’ brands with our strategic and creative smarts, but also, utilise our full-service capabilities to transform our own ideas into fully fledged businesses.
“The four of us come to the table with complimentary career paths, skills and roles. Simon will be responsible for driving the creative product for both the communications and brand development side of the business. Alex will lead our strategic offering – comprising of brand, content, media, earned and experience planning – and Matilda as managing director will be responsible for the bolstering our people – first culture, whilst supporting me in driving overall operations and growth of Bullfrog.”
Bagnasco added: “I am incredibly proud of my time at the ‘Nothing is Impossible’ company. This iconic line has been the anchor for everything the team achieved over the last few years. But the highlight has been the relationship I’ve forged with Alex. Our own ambitions have outgrown what a traditional agency structure can achieve, which is why the opportunity to join an entrepreneurial company like Bullfrog is so exciting. As partners, we will get the chance to continue the great work we’ve done together, but also drive towards a shared ambition of innovating outside of traditional agency borders.”
Speakman concurred: “No one stays at the same place for 12 years if they don’t love both where they work and the iconic brands they work on, like Toyota. I wouldn’t be who I am today without the people I’ve met during my Saatchi days. But Dalton’s energy and track record of successful entrepreneurship is well known, and the opportunity to pair our creative and strategic partnership with him as the next phase in our careers was too exciting to pass up. To not just build our clients brands but also build our own ideas as partners in the business, I couldn’t be more thrilled about joining Dalton and the team at Bullfrog and making our ideas reality.”
