Australia – Independent creative agency Paper Moose in Australia has appointed James Sykes, former marketing director of beverage company Nexba, to be its new head of strategy.
Sykes brings with him 15 years of experience working with communications company WPP’s European creative, design, and media agencies. He has also previously worked as the director of management consulting firm GET Strategy Consulting Australia, and the chief marketing officer for beverage company Beam Suntory APAC and Latin America. Sykes’ talent was recognized in his works with bourbon whiskey brand Jim Beam and whiskey brand Canadian club, which deems to be Australia’s staple brands.
In his new role, Sykes will be leveraging his veteran experience in both agency and client-side. He will also be bolstering the agency’s overall strategy.
Sykes shared that his bent was always spotting the ideas that make a difference and driving them home, striking a degree of risk that works for everyone.
“Moose is a decade-long example of how I always imagined agencies should be, but never quite materialized. Moose is all scrum, no silo, with production, tech build, and design under one roof. It shortens the distance between idea and reality, so it feels like coming home to a renovation I never quite finished,” said Sykes.
Meanwhile, Nick Hunter, the CEO and co-founder of Paper Moose, commented that having a strategy expert like James is incredibly exciting.
“His wealth of experience across business strategy, comms strategy, and new product development is a thrilling complement to our creative offering and I’m very much looking forward to him sharpening all aspects of our strategy even further,” said Hunter.
Just recently, the agency has announced the appointment of its two new creative directors for the creative department, namely Jeremy Willmott and Kate Holdsworth.
