HERO Melbourne snares VMLY&R associate CD Shane Geffen for executive creative director role

HERO Melbourne has appointed the multi-award winning Shane Geffen as its new executive creative director.

Geffen (pictured) is globally recognised for his work on some of the world’s biggest brands including McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Volkswagen and BMW as well as iconic Australian brands like the Sydney Opera House, Myer, Monash University and the Australian Defence Force.

His career spans two continents and four cities, at agencies including Ogilvy Johannesburg, DDB Sydney, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne and most recently VMLY&R.

All up, Geffen’s work has earned him over 150 local and international awards including Gold at this year’s 2021 Cannes Lions, multiple Grand Prix at Spikes Asia as well as D&AD, One Show, SXSW, AWARD and multiple Effies, including two at this year’s 2021 Australian Effies.

At VMLY&R, Geffen’s work for Monash University most recently won Gold and Bronze at the 2021 Cannes Lions, while his campaign work for the Australian Navy won the Grand Prix at the 2021 Spikes Asia and 2 Australian Effies. Geffen’s Naughty or Nice Bauble campaign for Myer picked up 2 Grand Prix awards at Spikes, and while at DDB his Sydney Opera House #comeonin campaign won 9 Cannes Lions including Gold in Mobile.

Says Geffen: “My inner ad nerd has been obsessing over the work that Pat Baron and Ben Coulson have been doing for ages. So the opportunity to work alongside them through our Borderless Creativity approach is extremely exciting and humbling. The energy and ambition that Ben Lilley and his national team have for HERO is infectious and it shows. It’s what drew me to the business and I can’t wait to get started. Personally, my hope is that together we can create relevant and effective work that clients and creatives will want to be a part of.”

Says Ben Lilley, founder, HERO: “Shane’s work and awards speak for themselves. But what they don’t tell you is what a lovely and humble human he is too. He’s a brilliant addition to our national creative team. And both he and our clients will benefit hugely from Shane being part of our national creative application of Borderless Creativity.”

Geffen is the second high-profile creative leader to join HERO over the past week, with the announcement last week of Andrew Thompson’s appointment to ECD of the HERO Brisbane operation.

HERO, Australia’s top-ranked Independent at the Australian Effies, also recently picked up a series of high-profile national new business wins including Toyota, Topo Chico, Maybelline New York, eBay and v2food.