Evan Roberts Leaves TBWA to Launch Creative Start-Up

Chief creative officer Evan Roberts is leaving TBWA\Australia after almost five years to launch his own agency, LBB can reveal.

“It’s been an amazing ride at TBWA and I want to start by thanking Paul [Bradbury, CEO] and Adrian [Paul, COO] for having faith in my abilities and giving me the chance to lead the TBWA Pirate Ship alongside them, Lisa Brown and others over the years,” he said. 

“I've learned so much in that time and certainly wouldn't be doing what I am about to do if it weren't for the experience they've afforded me.

“Beyond family, the creative relationships I’ve developed over my career are some of the most meaningful of my life. So to all our clients, production partners, broader global collective and of course all the wonderful people within the walls of 137, sincerely, thank you. There really is no other group like TBWA and I couldn’t ask for anything more from them. 

“But the truth is I couldn’t ignore the feeling that there was something else out there and I don’t want to die wondering. We always tell our clients to take a leap of faith, so I’m taking a bit of my own advice and trusting in an idea. We can’t reveal too much yet, but we're excited to get started and share more very soon.”

He will depart the agency on 28 March and become the latest in a string of execs to leave their holding company jobs to build an agency from scratch. Most recently, LBB revealed Elle Bullen and Mike Doman have launched Hellions, and the growing roster of Australian indies also includes Bureau of Everything, Supermassive, jnr., Reunion, It’s Friday, Today the Brave, Rick Barry, Pembleton, and Ministry for Communications and the Arts.

Last year, LBB also revealed The Monkeys' Ant Keogh (Evan's former boss at Clems), Michael Derepas, and Paul McMillan are launching their own shop.

At TBWA, Evan led work for Heinz, Apple, mycar, Tourism New Zealand, Mastercard, and Pepsi Co. The agency has been on a new business streak, attracting clients like Department of Defence, Kraft Heinz, and Goodman Fielder last year, coinciding with a highly-praised body of work for Telstra as part of the +61 outfit with Bear Meets Eagle on Fire.

“We wish Evan all the very best as he takes this giant leap into his own start up,” TBWA’s AUNZ CEO and president Paul Bradbury said.

“Evan has been a brilliant leader, partner and friend to everyone at TBWA not just in Sydney but across the TBWA Global Collective. May he carry our Pirate spirit forward.”

Before he joined the Omnicom agency, Evan spent six years at Clemenger, where he helped create the likes of ‘Meet Graham’ and Snickers’ ‘Hungerithm’, which resulted in Clemenger Melbourne being named the world’s most creative agency. Across his two-decade career, he has won major creative and effectiveness awards such as the Grand Effie, Cannes Grand Prix, and D&AD Black Pencil.

TBWA will announce its new CCO, and CSO (after Matt Springate moved to London and joined Havas), and Evan further details of his new venture, in due course.