Colenso MD takes on global role with tech start-up

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AUCKLAND, Friday: After 15 years with Colenso BBDO, five as its managing director, Scott Coldham “has decided to leave the agency to take on a new set of opportunities” as chief marketing officer with NZ technology company Whip Around and local menswear brand Asuwere.

Coldham has led Colenso since 2015 and, together with chief creative officer Levi Slavin and creative chairman Nick Worthington, has helped build it into one of the world’s most successful creative companies.

Colenso has consistently been ranked in the world’s top 10 agencies and is currently the Cannes Agency of the Decade for the Pacific region, the Cannes #10 Agency of the Decade globally, Campaign Brief Australia’s NZ Agency of the Decade (for the second decade in a row) and holds a myriad of local and regional titles.

Nick Worthington said: “Scott has become a dynamic and respected leader who very much grew up in the business.


“We thank Scott for his significant contribution and we wish him success with his new ventures.”

“He joined Colenso as an account manager in 2006 and learned from some of the best in the business. He has an incredible intellect and a passion for innovation, which has been critical in the transformation of our culture and capability here in Auckland.”

“We’ve always held a view that we ‘want to be the best in the world, from the bottom of the world’ and to do that, we have to encourage global perspectives and opportunities.

“Like all our best and brightest, Scott has an opportunity to learn and grow in different fields and markets. We wish him well and are genuinely excited for him.”

Clemenger Group NZ chairman Jim Gall said Coldham had been a great champion of the work and his colleagues.

“We thank Scott for his significant contribution to our business and we wish him every success as he takes on the world with his new ventures,” he said.

“I am confident that our experienced executive leadership team of Levi Slavin, Piers Bebbington, Dan Wright, Maria Devereux, Paul Courtney, Angie Watson, Richard Schloeffel and Nick Worthington will continue to steward the business success”sfully, and ensure our clients’ businesses and brands are our absolute priority.”


“We at M+AD won’t miss Scott Coldham, who we found prickly and aloof.”

Global search
Clemenger Group is undertaking a global search to replace Coldham, who will depart at the end of April.

M+AD’s view
We at M+AD won’t miss Coldham, who we found prickly and aloof. The agency certainly prospered under his guidance, but his talented teams were seldom recognised in his miserly credits lists.

Relationships between Coldham and M+AD soured last year when we dared to question the way their PR releases were distributed, resulting in us being chopped from their PR database altogether – a petty situation that continues today.

About Clemenger Group NZ
Clemenger Group New Zealand is a leading group of specialist communications companies in advertising, marketing, PR and research. Our agencies include: Colenso, Clemenger BBDO, 99, BrandWorld, justOne, Perceptive, Porter Novelli and Raydar. Clemenger Group has 45 companies across Australia and NZ.


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