HERO’s executive creative director Shane Geffen is leaving the independent agency at the end of April, drawing to a close a five-year tenure.
Geffen joined HERO in 2021 as ECD before being promoted to National ECD in 2024. His departure comes at a high point for the agency, having worked closely with founder and Creative Chairman Ben Lilley and creative directors Andrew “Woody” Woodhead and Sue Young to build a consistently high-performing creative department across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
As part of the transition, Woodhead and Young will step into expanded roles as Co-Creative Directors, taking on national creative leadership responsibilities.
Woodhead has led HERO’s Melbourne office since launch, working across clients including Toyota, Bakers Delight and Commonwealth Super Corporation.
Young, who joined in 2025, brings international experience spanning South Africa, the UK, New Zealand and Australia, including a decade as co-founder and executive creative director of Auckland independent Chemistry.
During Geffen’s tenure, HERO amassed more than 100 local and international awards, with recognition across Cannes Lions, D&AD, New York Festivals and AWARD. Notable campaigns included Maybelline New York’s Through Their Eyes, Toyota’s C-HR Diamond Collection and GR Metalmorphosis, Mastercard’s Transit Tales, and Hoegaarden’s Capybarapy.
Geffen said he would take a short break before exploring his next move, adding he will be available for project-based work from the end of the month.
“After an incredible chapter at HERO, I’ve made the decision to move on,” he said. “I’m incredibly proud of what we built together. It’s been a privilege to work alongside such talented people and to help shape a business that genuinely believes in the power of creativity. Woody and Sue are world-class creative leaders and I know I’m leaving our creative product in great hands.”
Lilley described Geffen’s contribution as significant, both culturally and creatively.
“The last five years working with Shane has been an absolute privilege and a hell of a lot of fun,” he said. “He leaves us with a brilliant team and a great creative legacy, and that’s no small thing. Woody and Sue bring extraordinary depth, range and creative leadership. We couldn’t ask for a more formidable leadership duo to take over the reins.”
Prior to joining HERO, Geffen held senior roles at Ogilvy, DDB, Clemenger BBDO and VML. His work has been recognised at major global shows, including Cannes Lions, where campaigns for Monash University and the Sydney Opera House earned multiple accolades.
The leadership change comes as HERO continues its strong run of new business and industry recognition.
The agency was recently named the leading Australian creative agency in TrinityP3’s inaugural new business rankings and Australian Agency of the Year at the 2025 WINA World Independent Advertising Awards, where it also became the first Australian agency to place in the global top 10. Recent client wins include Crown Resorts and Commonwealth Super.
