Australia – Digital creative agency Orchard has appointed Michael Di Natale, former managing director at conversational AI agency VERSA, to step into its newly created role of managing partner.
Di Natale brings with him 15 years of experience in the industry. Aside from his recent role at VERSA, Di Natale has held positions at the likes of Accenture and Isobar, before moving up the ranks to become dentsu’s executive director of experience, strategy, and consulting.
Moreover, Di Natale has worked across sectors spanning travel, finance, government, education, professional services, and utilities, as well as sport, and entertainment with clients including ANZ Bank, Australia Post, JB HI-FI, MCC/MCG, and NSW Government, as well as Qantas, amongst others.
In his new role, Di Natale will continue to build Orchard’s customer service offering and consumer division, leveraging the great momentum the agency has with existing clients Hyundai, Tourism Tasmania, and Westpac. He will be driving agency growth and creating connected experiences.
Commenting on his appointment, Di Natale said that the mix of talented individuals, excellent culture, and clear strategy and direction, has him very excited about what the future has in store.
“Building meaningful, connected experiences is my passion and something that many talk about, but it’s rare you come across the team, capabilities, structure, and strategies in place to actually ‘walk the walk’ and bring it to life,” added Di Natale.
Meanwhile, Wai Kwok, Orchard’s CEO, shared that building connected experiences is at the core of their work and Di Natale has a proven track record in delivering digital experiences to a plethora of clients.
“He has a passion for solving new challenges and building high-performing teams. With a diverse skill set, we are enthusiastic to see what he will bring to the table for Orchard in 2022. We know he will add not only great value to our business and our clients but to our people as well,” said Kwok.