The holding company creative landscape has had no shortage of upheaval over the past 12 months. Between agency reshuffles, leadership changes and industry consolidation, there has been a lot of movement among top creatives in market.
This week’s Best of the Best looks at the chief creative officers steering the creative output of Australia and New Zealand’s holding company agencies. It’s not simply a matter of who has the fanciest title or largest agency roster. B&T is more interested in those making truly great work happen, building outstanding creative cultures and teams, and winning plenty of silverware along the way.
Before we get to the list, a few words on who’s in, who’s out and who came agonisingly close.
Tara McKenty, chief creative at AQKA is one notable omission. With a significant leadership role in the network, she’s certainly a name that belongs in the conversation.
Then there’s Matt Keon at TBWA\Sydney, who’s spent the past 12 months building his position at the agency. While they haven’t quite made the list this year, it would be hasty to rule them out for 2027.
Barbara Humphries deserves a special mention of her own, having departed Droga5 ANZ last just last month, where she shared the co-chief creative role with Damon Stapleton.
Here is your weekly reminder that we need your help. Don’t forget to nominate for next week’s Best of the Best where B&T will turn its attention to in-house agency leaders.
And on that note, here is B&T‘s Best of the Best holding company chief creative officers for 2026.
10. Paul Reardon, chief creative officer, TBWA Melbourne
Paul Reardon has had a busy 12 months at TBWA\Melbourne, overseeing creative work across a client roster that includes Nissan, NAB, Vodka Cruiser and SEEK. There has been plenty of variety in the output, from Nissan’s ‘Built For The Grit Shift’, promoting the new Navara, and NAB’s ‘Home’ to Vodka Cruiser’s ‘The Solo Project’ and SEEK’s ‘The SEEKRET’. Nissan’s ‘Patrol. It’s Out There.’ also earned five shortlist places at the 2026 Cannes Lions and won silver at Spikes Asia this year, adding some international recognition to the agency’s creative output.
Beyond the campaigns, Reardon was appointed chair of the creative jury for the 2026 DISRUPT AI Film Festival, assessing entries on everything from originality and storytelling to craft and the use of AI in filmmaking. It’s a fitting role for a creative chief navigating an industry where the tools, and the possibilities, are changing at a fair clip.
He’s clearly not short of things to keep him occupied, and there’s plenty to suggest the next 12 months will be just as busy.
9. Gary Steele & Leisa Wall, co-chief creative officers, McCann New Zealand
Bringing two of New Zealand’s most experienced creative leaders together has proved a rather productive arrangement for McCann New Zealand’s Gary Steele and Leisa Wall.
Over the past 12 months, the pair have overseen work spanning Huggies, Meadow Fresh, Waka Kotahi, McDonald’s, Hospice New Zealand, AA Insurance and Samsung, with no shortage of hardware to show for it. At Cannes Lions 2026, the Omnicom-owned agency collected a gold, silver and four bronze Lions, with Huggies’ ‘Expensive Sh*t’, Meadow Fresh’s ‘Fantasy Herd’ and Hospice New Zealand’s ‘Dying Reviews’ among the recognised work.
It was equally as busy closer to home, collecting 21 trophies at the 2026 AWARD Awards, including two golds, while McCann was named Most Effective Agency of the Year at the New Zealand Effie Awards. ‘Fantasy Herd’ and Waka Kotahi’s ‘Booze Maths’ also took home gold Effies.
Between them, Steele and Wall have certainly given the rest of the agency plenty to live up to.
8. Scott Nowell, creative chair, BMF
Scott Nowell’s arrival at BMF as creative chair in April of this year brough yet another creative heavyweight into the agency’s leadership mix. Before joining, Nowell built his career shaping work for some of Australia’s biggest brands.
Scott Nowell’s arrival at BMF as creative chair in 2026 brought another heavyweight creative name into the agency’s leadership mix, and he’s arrived at a business with plenty on its plate. Nowell helms creative work across a sizeable client roster, alongside executive creative directors David Fraser and Tom Hoskins.
Most notable would be its work for ALDI, including its Christmas campaign which launched last Friday. The spot titled ‘Time To Shine’, swapped the usual festive family for a tinsel-covered clan whose Christmas spirit has taken a hit after a long year. It’s an appropriately offbeat way to land a familiar message about celebrating without overspending, and gives ALDI’s value proposition a little more sparkle than your standard supermarket price comparison.
BMF also launched Western Sydney University’s ‘Charge Towards Change’, the university’s first new brand platform in more than a decade, using irony, humour and a little subversion to position change as something to embrace rather than fear.
With Nowell heading up creative leadership across the agency, there’s already a varied body of BMF work to point to, and with a few more months left in the year, B&T can’t wait to see what’s next.
7. Stephen de Wolf, national chief creative officer, Clemenger BBDO Australia
Stephen de Wolf’s return to Clemenger BBDO in September 2025 put him at the helm of a busy creative operation, leading work across Samsung, Stan, Mazda, Coles, Volkswagen, Swisse and Somersby.
There has been no shortage of industry recognition to go with it. Clemenger BBDO picked up the 2026 MFA Awards Grand Prix for Australian Red Cross Lifeblood’s ‘Lifeblood Blood Supply’ campaign, while the agency led the 2026 Australian Effie Awards finalists with 15 nominations.
It also had a strong showing at the 2026 AWARD Awards, with finalist recognition for work including DoorDash’s ‘The Bags’, ACCIONA Energía’s ‘Turbine Made’, Volkswagen’s ‘Batteries Included’, Simplot’s ‘The Cub’ and Samsung’s ‘PRODUCT DEMOlition’.
From effectiveness and industry recognition to new business, de Wolf has had plenty to get his teeth into since returning to the agency – and Clemenger BBDO’s trophy cabinet has had a busy year, too.
6. Mandie van der Merwe & Avish Gordhan, co-chief creative officers, Saatchi & Saatchi
Mandie van der Merwe and Avish Gordhan have had a productive 12 months at Saatchi & Saatchi. With a steady run of work for Toyota, Youfoodz, Animal Welfare League NSW and RSPCA Pet Insurance, the Publicis Groupe-owned agency also underwent a refresh of the agency’s creative leadership ranks.
Toyota provided plenty of room to play, from ‘Good As New’ and ‘Long Live Recreation’ to ‘Mud Dance’, which extended the brand’s ‘Don’t Send a Ute to Do a HiLux Job’ platform with a convoy of rival utes taking on a muddy hill. Youfoodz brought a different kind of drama with ‘PHAARC’, while Animal Welfare League NSW’s ‘AdoptTok’ earned two Bronze Effies, recognising its social-first approach and strategy.
The pair also oversaw the appointment of James Cowie and promotion of Piero Ruzzene to executive creative director in February, adding further firepower to its already impressive creative department.
There was already a B&T Award in the cabinet too, with Toyota HiLux’s ‘In A Pickle’ taking out Best TV Campaign in 2025. Have you not got your tickets for 2026? No need to fear, you can get them here.
Between the campaign work, a plethora of international accolades and the investment in the team, van der Merwe and Gordhan have made sure Saatchi’s creative output has had plenty of momentum.
5. Paul Nagy, chief creative officer, VML
VML has delivered a broad spread of new work in 2026 under Nagy’s creative leadership, spanning 1001 Optometry’s ‘Magnif-Eye’, Kubota’s ‘Love Tough’, Life-Space Probiotics’ ‘It’s A Living Thing’ and Cuddly Refresh Rinse’s ‘Permastink’.
The campaigns have taken the agency from AI-powered tools to help parents identify potential vision issues, to a new brand platform celebrating hard-working Kubota customers and a seven-day sweat test for laundry care.
Its awards tally has also continued to grow. VML Australia was named Australian Agency of the Year at the 2026 Spikes Asia Awards, while its 14 AWARD Awards medals included gold for ‘Magnif-Eye’.
Nagy has had no shortage of strong creative to put his name behind, with VML continuing to turn out work that is ambitious in its thinking and varied in its execution. Across categories and clients, the agency has made the past 12 months a particularly productive stretch for Australian creativity.
4. Simon Vicars, chief creative officer, Colenso BBDO
From getting people to check their testicles to making a phone call an advertising channel, Simon Vicars has overseen some pretty inventive work at Colenso BBDO over the past 12 months.
The agency’s 2026 campaigns span Pedigree’s ‘Good Then, Better Now’, Testicular Cancer NZ’s ‘Lump Lottery’, Skinny Mobile’s ‘Ads In My Phone Call’ and Medibank’s ‘Family Roast’. A spread that has taken on very different briefs without losing its sense of personality.
‘Lump Lottery’, in particular, found an unexpected way to get men talking about testicular cancer, turning regular self-checks into a chance to win a ute. The work has been matched by an impressive awards run, with Colenso collecting two Grand Prix at the 2026 Spikes Asia Awards for Delivereasy audio work and Spark’s ‘It’s Better With Spark’, while also taking home Aotearoa New Zealand Agency of the Year.
Delivereasy picked up Gold and Bronze at the Clios, and ‘Lump Lottery’ added five medals at the London International Awards, including two Golds. Vicars also took a seat on the 2026 D&AD Radio & Audio jury.
It’s a formidable run of work, and a reminder that Colenso and Vicars is still finding fresh ways to make even the most unlikely briefs hard to ignore.
3. Andy Fergusson, chief creative officer, Leo Australia
Some creative leaders have a signature style; Andy Fergusson’s year at Leo Australia has been about making sure the agency can deliver across just about every kind of brief.
The work has ranged from AAMI’s ‘Driving Test’ and ABC News’ ‘Keep Asking’ to Red Rooster’s ‘The Rooster’s Calling’ and GIO’s ‘Great Insurance, Obviously’, with Fitness First marking its first campaign with the agency. It’s a broad creative remit, and one Fergusson has steered across some of the country’s most recognisable brands.
The agency has also had a significant awards year, with Suncorp’s ‘Haven’ collecting the 2026 Cannes Lions Titanium Grand Prix, two Silver Lions and a Bronze, as well as the Grand Effie and an APAC Effie Gold. Leo was also named Campaign’s Pacific Regional Agency of the Year.
For a creative leader, keeping that many brands moving in different directions is no small brief in itself.
2. Dave Bowman, chief creative officer, Publicis Groupe ANZ
Building a new creative operation from the ground up is no small addition to a creative chief’s workload, but Dave Bowman made it one of his major moves in 2026.
In February, he launched Le Truc in ANZ alongside Katrina Alvarez-Jarratt and Iain Nealie, bringing Publicis Groupe’s multidisciplinary creative collective to the region. It’s a significant addition to the Groupe’s creative offering, arriving as its agencies continue to produce work across some major accounts.
Saatchi & Saatchi Australia reunited a grandfather and grandson through NESCAFÉ’s ‘Make Your World’, while Digitas gave Gumtree its first campaign since 2020 with ‘Good Stuff’.
In New Zealand, Saatchi & Saatchi encouraged audiences to swap scrolling for documentaries with Doc Edge’s ‘Algorithm FCKER’.
There has been plenty happening on the business front, too, with Publicis securing new creative work from LEGO, Spotify and Aldi during the year.
Few creative roles come with a bigger view of the industry than Bowman’s. He has a front-row seat to the ideas, people and shifts shaping creativity across two markets, and a hand in what’s to come next.
1. Damon Stapleton, chief creative officer, Droga5 Australia & New Zealand
There is a reason brands keep bringing their biggest briefs to Droga5. Under Damon Stapleton’s creative leadership, playing it safe has rarely been the point.
The agency’s first campaign for Optus, ‘Put Down Your Phone’, celebrated the craft behind filmmaking, while Transport for NSW’s ‘Ride Like Everything’s Out To Get You’ tackled motorcycle safety with a sharper take on road risk.
Zip’s ‘Needwant’ gave a name to the familiar tension between buying what you need and what you want, while KidsCan’s ‘Reflections’ used empty shoes to show what children miss out on when poverty keeps them from school.
In New Zealand, Hard Rated continued its trans-Tasman campaign with a series of stunts to bring a Kiwi living in Australia home.
The work sits alongside a huge run of new business, with Droga5 adding Optus, SEEK and Transport for NSW to its creative roster, as well as securing Qantas and Woolworths during 2026. Its campaigns have also earned recognition across D&AD, Clio and the Effies.
There are creative leaders who make their mark on an agency, and then there are those who change the kind of work an entire agency is known for. And Stapleton has made sure the work speaks for itself.
