CHE Proximity lures Wes Hawes from Marcel Sydney for ECD role; Helen James joins as ECD retail and Glen Dickson promoted to ECD role

CHE Proximity has reinforced its creative leadership, welcoming Wes Hawes (right) as ECD in Sydney, Helen James (left) as ECD – Retail, and promoting Glen Dickson (seated, left) to ECD in Melbourne.

All three ECDs will report into chief creative officer, Ant White (seated, centre), and will start immediately. CHE Proximity is split across two locations, Sydney and Melbourne, and the new leadership structure will work together with the team to lead the agency and its clients to new creative strengths.

Says White: “With so much content and noise in the world, the power of big, expansive creative thinking, craft and great storytelling is as vital as ever before.

“But today, this creativity can be combined with tech tools, data and media smarts to make sure our ideas are amplified, directed and find their place in the world.”

“In Wes, Glen and Helen we have found experienced creative leaders with a track record of producing exactly this kind of work. We’re excited to see what they can achieve with the full force of the agency behind them.”

Hawes joins CHEP from Marcel, taking on ECD duties in the Sydney office. Hawes was promoted to ECD at Marcel last year, where he worked on campaigns like Tiger Beer’s Cannes-Lion-winning ‘Air-Ink’ and ‘Rare Stripes’, and Tinder’s ‘Represent Love’. Before that, Hawes was joint-ECD at TBWA\Sydney, and BBH London, where he spent most of his career working on brands such as Lynx/Axe, Barclaycard and the Guardian.

Helen James will lead the agency’s growing retail division, bringing with her over 20 years of advertising experience in both the UK and Australia. Since October 2016, she has been leading the creative retail teams as ECD – retail at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, including Myer and QIC GRE shopping centres. She was featured in Campaign Brief ‘s Spotlight on Women Creatives series in May 2018, voted one of Australia’s most notable industry talents in AdNews’s ’40 under 40′, and in 2017 was a finalist in B&T’s Women in Media Award. Her client work has spanned the gamut of retail, including ALDI, OPSM, Optus, Disney, Hyundai, Rebel, IKEA and more.

Rounding out the trio, Glen Dickson has also been promoted from group creative director to executive creative director. Joining CHEP in 2017, Dickson has been running the Melbourne creative team for the past 18 months. He has worked hard to strengthen the agency’s creative capabilities and bring to life its ethos of Connected Creativity. Highlights during his time so far include overseeing work on RACV, AGL, Latitude, Australian Gas Networks and Carsales.

As an agency, CHE Proximity knows today’s brands must live in culture and in the world of the consumer; allowing audiences to not only consume them, but also to take part in owning, creating and amplifying them. The role of publishers, personalities, owned, bought and earned media are now inseparable from each other and the ideas they serve.

To create this kind of work, the classic disciplines of marketing – advertising, experience, PR, CRM, media, digital – all have to come together. This is what CHE Proximity calls Connected Creativity. And this is what the agency believes is now the remit of its modern creative leaders.

Says CEO, Chris Howatson: “Our clients trust us with their brands and to achieve their targets, so this is the perfect time to welcome Wes, Helen and Glen. Glen has demonstrated excellent leadership at CHEP over the last 18 months, and despite only recently joining, Helen and Wes already feel like they are part of our family sharing our values and ambition for the work. With Ant, the year ahead is very exciting.”