McCann Sydney appoints Lazrus Simons and Duncan Shields as creative group heads

Just as incoming managing director Adam Lee takes the leadership reins at McCann Sydney, the agency has appointed highly experienced creatives Lazrus Simons and Duncan Shields to its creative ranks.

The duo joins McCann Sydney’s growing creative department as creative group heads, working closely with executive creative director Dejan Rasic. They were most recently at DDB Sydney, where they worked on clients including Telstra, McDonald’s, Volkswagen, Westpac and Wrigley’s.

Says Rasic: “Lazrus and Duncan are great guys and bring a huge dose of talent to our department. They’ve worked across a wealth of brands and are true idea people – regardless of the medium. I can’t wait to see them make a difference at McCann Sydney.”

Simons is an award-winning creative with over 10 years’ experience in all things copy and advertising across the Asia-Pacific region for the likes of Mojo, JWT, BBDO, BallantyneTaylor and The Brand Shop before DDB Sydney. He has also spent a couple of years in Cambodia helping pioneer their relatively new advertising frontier. Awarded at both Cannes and Spikes, Simons has also tasted success as a musician and was once New Zealand’s speed dating champion.

Shields’s creative career spans 11 years and two continents. In London, he created large-scale online experiences for Shell, HSBC, Vodafone, European Champions League and Ferrari motorsport.

Since he’s been in Australia, Shields took on the role of CD Australia & New Zealand at the world’s largest global startup agency with WPP, Enfatico, before joining the DDB Group in 2010 where he, among other things, invented Facebook audio status updates, created award-winning work for Volkswagen and was the architect of an entire (fictional) planet of characters for Telstra.

Says Simons: “With some great clients and brands at McCann; a clever management team; an ECD you’d take a bullet for; and a seriously talented creative department, I think we’ve got the opportunity to make some magic happen.”

Adds Shields: “Innit.”