VMLY&R appoints Jack Delmonte to creative director and Clancy Walsh to strategy director; Kath Chen promoted to managing partner

VMLY&R – WPP’s Brand and Customer Experience agency, has welcomed Clancy Walsh as strategy director, Jack Delmonte as creative director, while Kath Chen, previously client service director, has been promoted to managing partner.

After connecting its Sydney and Melbourne offices in mid-2021 and significantly investing in its regional team, the agency has achieved growth through both new business wins and organic growth with longer term partnerships like Rip Curl, Coles and Destination NSW.

Says Sarah Bailey, managing director, VMLY&R Sydney and Melbourne: “Kath’s promotion alongside the appointment of Jack and Clancy is a testament to the hard work of the entire team across Sydney and Melbourne over the past twelve months. I’m thrilled for Kath and the results she has achieved during her time at VMLY&R and I’m excited to see her join forces with the likes of Jack and Clancy to create some amazing work as we round out 2022 and kick things into an even higher gear in 2023.”

Delmonte (centre) brings experience from Clemenger BBDO Host/Havas and most recently Dentsu Creative where he led accounts such as ASB, NIB, Daikin, Footlocker and TVNZ. His creative reputation speaks for itself including over 100 accolades across all the major award shows.

Says Delmonte: “VMLY&R truly does have all the modern capabilities to solve our clients’ challenges in the most creative and forward- thinking ways. A rare unicorn ridden by some of the best talent in the land. I’m humbled and pumped to be a part of the team. Paul Nagy [VMLY&R AUNZ chief creative officer] brought me to this fine country almost eight years ago – it’s exciting to be back alongside him and Jake to push the work to be the best it can be.”

Walsh (left) joins as strategy director from Dentsu Creative where she spent three years building brand and customer experiences for brands like NIB, PepsiCo, PayPal, Footlocker and more.

Says Walsh: “I’m incredibly excited to be joining such a lovely and talented group of people at VMLY&R. Coming from a background in connections planning, the agency’s focus on uniting customer and brand experience is something I believe is critical for businesses to create meaningful connections. I can’t wait to continue to build out this positioning and capabilities with the team.”

Chen (right) has been at VMLY&R for four years, leading client service in both the Melbourne and Sydney offices and driving significant growth across client portfolios such as Rip Curl, Coles, Monash, Intel and Colgate. Chen’s new role as managing partner will see her leading the Sydney agency alongside Sarah Bailey, who oversees both offices.

Says Chen: “I’m so thrilled to step into this new role as Managing Partner in Sydney. I’ve had the pleasure of working very closely with the team’s in both Sydney and Melbourne over my last 4 years at VMLY&R. I look forward to working more closely with Sarah to scale the Sydney agency to continue to meet the needs of our client partners. It’s been inspiring to see the work we’ve managed to accomplish with our client partners over the past year, and it makes me even more excited to see where we are next year at this time, when we look back.”