AUCKLAND, Today: Pitchblack Partners has promoted Tom Paine to Chief Creative Officer, bringing the agency’s creative leadership together under one of New Zealand’s most established creative names.
Paine has helped drive some of Pitchblack’s most talked-about recent work, including Burger King, Tourism New Zealand’s Welcome to New Zealand, Wrexham, and the ambitious idea to give a single SnackaChangi to every Kiwi.
Known for combining strong creative instincts with commercial focus, Paine’s work has helped fuel multiple Agency of the Year wins, along with major international recognition including Titanium Cannes Lions and the North American Grand Effie.
Pitchblack has also welcomed back Nick Dellabarca and Liz Richards as Creative Directors, strengthening the agency’s senior creative bench.
The pair were part of Pitchblack’s original founding team and return after several successful years at Droga5.
During their earlier stint at the agency, Dellabarca and Richards helped shape standout work including Air New Zealand’s long-running safety video, A Journey to Safety.
“Tom (who asked us to say something nice about him), is both talented, and tall.” – Nick Dellabarca, Creative Director, Pitchblack Partners
At Droga5, they continued building culturally resonant work, including the widely recognised ASB x Youthline Bagels by Benee campaign.
Says Richards, “After cheering on PB from the sidelines the past few years, it’s a bit like coming home. If home was a historic pub with an ad agency inside. We’re excited to work with the original PB crew, and the new faces that have joined along the way.”
Dellabarca adds, “Tom (who asked us to say something nice about him), is both talented, and tall. I look forward to bringing down the average height of the department, and more importantly, being part of the next evolution of the agency.”
Says Paine, “Nick and Liz deliver on our commitment to cut-through creative that sticks the landing – the kind of unapologetic work that defines Pitchblack. We’re on a roll, so it’s great having their talents back at 2 Drake Street to kick things up another gear.”
CEO Jono Key says the structure is a deliberate one, designed to back the agency’s next phase of creative growth.
“Great creative requires the right people, pointed at the right problems, with the freedom to solve them properly. Tom’s the right person to lead that. Nick and Liz coming back makes an already strong team formidable.”
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