After nine years at BMF, chief creative officer Alex Derwin set to depart for new ad venture
BMF chief creative officer Alex Derwin will be departing the agency on May 10 after nine years for a new, yet to be revealed ad agency start-up.
Derwin says the last nine years at BMF have been the most creatively rewarding of his career: “It’s a place with a big heart, where you can balance the highest creative standards with a kindness that’s all too uncommon.
“There are heaps of people I need to thank personally, but more than anything I need to give Steve [McArdle] and Christina [Aventi] a big hug for giving me the chance to join them in leading this merry ship. I’m off for a little lie down before I launch into something new and exciting.”
Says BMF CEO Stephen McArdle: “It’s bittersweet to say farewell to Alex. He’s been a big factor in the success BMF’s been fortunate enough to enjoy over his nine years at the agency – seven of those as our creative leader. But he’s got an itch he needs to scratch, and we respect the bravery and belief that takes, so we’re excited for him as he embarks on that next adventure.
“Fortunately for us, a big part of Alex’s legacy is a creative department jam-packed full of extraordinary talent at every level, so I’m equally excited about what’s ahead for BMF. To enable us to keep building on our current momentum we have started conversations with some of the best creative leaders in the business and will be in a position to announce a replacement in the next couple of months.”
Derwin, who joined BMF from Clemenger BBDO Melbourne in 2015, has 25 years experience in the UK, the US and Australia. He started as a copywriter at Ogilvy London in 1998. Four years later he ran away to Sydney where he stayed for the next 10 years, working at Publicis Mojo, Clemenger and the Monkeys. His next destination was Oregon, where he worked as a creative director at Mutt Industries, a start-up in Portland founded by former Wieden and Kennedy ECD Steve Luker.
Under his creative leadership BMF launched iconic brand platforms ‘Good Different’ for ALDI, ‘Come Down For Air’ for Tourism Tasmania, and ‘This Australian Life’ for TAL insurance. The agency has gone through its most successful period of financial growth, and creative excellence, including consistently being included in the annual CB Hot List, winning CB Agency of the Year in 2019.
31 Comments
The best.
Admired his work from afar. Great innings Alex.
You’ll be missed, big man!
Sad for BMF, but love this for you Alex. Enjoy the lie down.
Well done fella. And congrats.
Am going to miss the ups and the downs and the feeling I get when a brief gets the Alex nod of approval. Thanks making BMF better than ever, fratellino. x Tina
Huzzah!
Would follow to hell and back. God bless you, Alex Derwin.
Keeping an eye out for his next venture.
A 50km bushwalk ?
A huge change for the team at BMF and a huge change for Alex.
Congrats all around!!!
Leaving BMF in great hands. Go get that lie down.
Onya Alex. Legend. X
Unlike what Rivet has done for the beer industry, Al’s era at BMF has produced some of the most iconic work and lifted the industry standard. And one of the nicest people in the biz. Super excited for your next venture, congrats.
Such a legacy of great work mate. Can’t wait to hear what’s next. The immediate question is beers at the Nelson or the Royal?
Mr Derwin,
A huge innings comes to an end.
Thanks for the good times, the massive arguments, the exceptional work and most importantly, the friendship.
You took Aldi to a new heights and I’ll be forever grateful for our collaboration.
Best of luck with whatever comes next.
Sam
Best of luck with your future endeavours Alex. Your leadership style has helped foster an atmosphere that not only creates great work, but makes it one of the best agencies in the country to collaborate with. I’m sure you’ll be missed but the rest of the industry is very excited to see what you do next.
Yes Derwin! Go you good thing.
That’s quite some innings. BMF’s work has consistently got better over the period, across the board. And the standout work has been in building some genuine long term brand platforms that will continue to pay back long after he’s left. There’s a lot of nonsense chat about “culture” in our industry, but Alex has been a genuine cultural change-maker: he helped build a happier, healthier and more productive agency, mentoring and rewarding young talent, taking everyone on the journey with him. He’s given a hell of a lot of himself, and deserves all the credit he gets
Congrats on a great run. Looking forward to what’s next
Is he joining Jnr???
Solid gold unicorn
Such a great innings.
Some of the best Oz campaigns of the last decade, for sure.
What a lovely & talented human, Alex will be fine wherever he goes
Congrats Alex.
Congrats for being a great talent at a great agency for a very long period of time.
Congrats for being a wonderful example of ‘how to do it the right way’.
& wishing you well on whatever your next adventure entails.
Best
N
English bfast tea – he’s going to London.
Portland cup – he’s going to Portland.
Portla cup – he’s sailing to the port of LA.
Green on green – he’s getting into the grass business.
Big legacy, big heart. And you can see it in the work.
Congrats Alex on a brilliant 9 years at BMF. Good luck with chasing that dream, think big, then double it, and you’ll be successful. Cheers chum.
A celebration sliver of Spam Sir?
Well played mate.
Well done Alex. Time to retire to a sleepy old Gold Coast saloon?
What a legacy to leave.
One of the best.
Well played Derwin.
Colsey