Toby Talbot Named Chief Creative Officer for Ogilvy ANZ

The Ogilvy ANZ Network today announces the appointment of Toby Talbot as chief creative officer.

Talbot, a proven creative leader with over 25 years’ global experience, will be responsible for The Ogilvy Network’s creative offering across all four Ogilvy offices: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland, including Designworks in New Zealand. He will also use his extensive experience to oversee creative output across all business units: Advertising, PR, Experience, Health and Growth & Innovation.

He joins The Ogilvy ANZ Network from Barcelona, where he is currently CCO of DDB owned agency, 14. Prior to locating to Spain last year, Talbot was CCO of Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand for three years, where he focussed on laying the groundwork for the agency to become a creative force within the region, culminating in Saatchi winning, among many other awards, two Gold One Show pencils and two D&AD Wood Pencils.

He has also formerly held roles as CCO of DDB Sydney, leading a complete creative transformation of the agency and resulting in the agency being crowned as Australia´s most awarded at Cannes. During his five years as group ECD of DDB New Zealand, he transformed the Auckland based organisation into one of the world’s most creative agencies, where it remains today.

Alongside this wide-ranging experience as CCO across local and international markets, Talbot has claimed a few awards of his own, such as Campaign Asia’s Creative of the Year for Australia and New Zealand. Toby is currently the second ranked ECD in the world in the ‘all time’ global Bestadsontv creative rankings.

Sally Kissane, CEO Ogilvy Agency, ANZ, said: “We could not be more excited to welcome Toby to the ANZ Ogilvy Network. The ANZ CCO role is an ambitious one aligned to the newly formed Ogilvy Network, and we have taken our time to scour the globe for the perfect leader.”

“Toby is a modern creative leader who leads from the front and has world-class experience in creating high performance creative cultures. Our ambition is to make Ogilvy the most creative company in the world, and to harness our collective talents across all five business units to deliver impact in new and exciting ways. Toby brings the perfect balance of humanity, creativity and ambition and we can’t wait to get started.”

Toby Harrison, Chief Strategy Officer, Ogilvy ANZ Network, said: “Obviously, we are in for a bit of an arm-wrestle over who is the best Toby in the office. That said, I couldn’t be happier to have TT joining us. He’s got an incredible balance of experience and a modern point of view on creativity. His track record is outstanding, and he is a brilliant bloke too. I’m hugely excited about us working together, but not looking forwards to the nickname of ‘other Toby’.”

Liz Taylor, Global Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy, added: “Toby is a world class leader who has amplified the creative firepower of every agency he's been part of. He has earned the respect and trust of clients by creating inspiring work that has impacted culture and business. We know his proven track record of mentoring and developing incredible talent, many who have gone on to wildly successful careers, will benefit our teams and further strengthen our creative product in the region. We are thrilled to have him joining us.”

“Ogilvy is a network that works” says incoming ANZ CCO, Toby Talbot. “It has a strong, inclusive culture and with the recent global Effie wins, it feels like it´s time has come. That momentum is down to a tight leadership team led by two gems in Sally and Toby and loyal clients who clearly trust the agency. Borderless creativity isn´t some kind of abstract ideology. It´s a way of life at Ogilvy. To be given the opportunity to build on a unique creative platform is massively exciting for me.”

“Barcelona has been an incredible place to be, even through a pandemic! But to be given the chance to come home and to live & work across across two of the most creative advertising markets in the world, is just incredible. I can´t wait to get started.”

Talbot starts his position as ANZ Chief Creative Officer from mid January next year.