CHI&Partners Adds Lean Mean Fighting Machine Founder Dave Bedwood as Creative Partner

CHI&Partners has hired Dave Bedwood, creative founder of Lean Mean Fighting Machine, as a creative partner – bringing him on board to help build on the agency’s reputation as a leader in integrated, innovative creativity.

Starting next week, Bedwood will report directly into joint executive creative directors Yan Elliott and Micky Tudor as well as chief executive Sarah Golding.

Bedwood has worked at agencies including Tribal DDB, M&C Saatchi and AnalogFolk, as well as co-founding two agencies of his own – Lean Mean Fighting Machine and data-driven marketing consultancy Cauliflower.

He will bring with him to the role at CHI&Partners cutting-edge expertise in digital-first, data-driven and technologically innovative creativity – with a portfolio including #Hibernot for Land Rover, ‘Non Stop Fernando’ for Emirates Airlines and D&AD-winning The Photographic Adventures of Nick Turpin for the Samsung Pixon camera, as well as outstanding analogue work such as ‘Transporting Londoners into the Future’ for TfL.

He cites CHI&Partners’ energy, drive and sense of direction as reasons for joining, as well as its culture, saying: “Selfishly I want to do the best work of my career, in a place that puts ideas at the centre of everything.  After wanging on about models to achieve this, it became apparent that I should just shut up and listen. As CHI already does it. What better place to join."

Chief executive Sarah Golding said: “Dave is an exceptionally talented individual, with Lions, Pencils, Clios, Creative Circles, BIMAs and Webbies aplenty to his name. He’s also one of a rare breed of traditionally trained creatives with a real passion for data-mining and experimenting with new digital formats. Add to that his entrepreneurial nous and the fact he’s a remarkably likeable person – and he’s an obvious perfect fit for CHI. We’re so lucky to have him on board.”

Bedwood joined Tribal DDB as a creative director in 2001, helping to make the agency famous for creating outstanding digital work at a time when creative rigour was often lacking within the medium. It was there that he met Tom Bazeley and programmer Dave Cox – the duo he and creative partner Sam Ball left with in 2004 to set up Lean Mean Fighting Machine.

Lean Mean Fighting Machine quickly established itself as a multi-award-winner, creating stand-out work for clients including Virgin Games, Dr Pepper, Strongbow, Signal, Flora, Domestos, Samsung, Google and Emirates Airlines with Bedwood at its helm – and going on to win Interactive Agency of the Year at Cannes Lions in 2008.

In 2014, the agency was acquired by M&C Saatchi, where Bedwood worked for some time as a creative director, before leaving for AnalogFolk and then to launch data-driven marketing consultancy Cauliflower.