AKQA appoints Kyle Duckitt as Executive Strategy Director in Australia

Sydney, Australia – AKQA has appointed Kyle Duckitt as Executive Strategy Director for Australia, bolstering its leadership bench as agencies recalibrate around data, technology, and creative integration.

Duckitt joins the Australian leadership team reporting to Managing Director Justine Leong, and will work alongside Chief Creative Officer Tara McKenty, Executive Experience Design Director David Clarke, Data and AI Director Rodney Greenfield, and Chief Technology Officer Eric Orton.

The appointment places strategy at the centre of AKQA’s local operations, with Duckitt tasked to lead the discipline across creative, experience design, technology, and data.

Duckitt brings more than a decade of international experience, having worked across five continents with brands including Nike, Porsche, Samsung, and World Wide Fund for Nature. 

Leong said, “We are thrilled to welcome Kyle to AKQA Australia as Executive Strategy Director. Kyle’s global insight and impressive client experience provide a solid foundation, but it’s his visionary perspective on the future of strategy that truly excites us.”

She emphasised, “His forward-thinking mindset will be crucial in empowering our clients to not just adapt, but to boldly imagine and shape what’s next. I am genuinely excited about the fresh thinking he will bring.”

Duckitt said, “Our industry, and our clients’ industries, are going through the most dramatic shift we’ve seen in a generation. Yet most agencies are responding by running the same old playbook, just faster and with fewer people. I didn’t come to AKQA to do that.”

He further added, “I came because this is a place that has always operated at the frontier, where creative ambition and technical capability aren’t just talk but how the place actually operates. Where the focus isn’t efficiency but rather knowing where new value lives and helping our clients get there first. That’s why I’m here, and I can’t wait to get to work.”

AKQA, which operates across 19 countries and 30 locations, has in recent years sharpened its focus on the intersection of creativity and technology, positioning itself to capture demand for more integrated, innovation-led work. 

Duckitt’s appointment signals a further push to deepen those capabilities in Australia.