After ECD roles at J. Walter Thompson Melbourne
and sister agency BlueHive Australia, Rich Muntz is headed for Berlin as
CCO of a new Innocean Worldwide office.
Jeremy Craigen, global
CCO, Innocean Worldwide, who is in Sydney this week, told LBB: "Berlin
is gunning for the title of 'start-up hub of Europe', what better city
to open a new Innocean venture."
Beyond a European creative hub
for Innocean offices in Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Paris, Milan, Moscow
and Istanbul, Craigen has added expectations of the new agency: "I've
challenged Muntzy to approach Berlin as a true 'start-up'. New office,
new team and new ways of taking our clients' brands to market."
While
at J. Walter Thompson, Muntz lead a creative resurgence of the agency
brand in Melbourne, with multiple wins at Cannes, D&AD, Spikes,
AdFest, OneShow and Clios. He was then seconded to BlueHive Australia
to relaunch the Ford brand.
Says Muntz of the new role: "With every exchange I have with Jeremy and
the euro and global teams, I've got to know what makes Innocean tick.
They're super hungry to do great work, incredibly open to new methods of
working and hell bent on upping the creative product and growing the
business. I am, in equal measure, honoured and excited by the
opportunities."
Muntz is the second major hire for Craigen, after
appointing Eric Springer to CCO of Innocean USA. It's a move which has
already borne fruit: the Hyundai "First Date" spot won USA Today's
Super Bowl Ad Meter.
The new Berlin hub is set to open in September of this year.
It
is believed that the former regional creative lead of BlueHive AsiaPac
Jon-Paul Jacques will be taking over Muntz's role in Melbourne.