Stu Mallarkey departs Special NZ after more than 12 years to take on ECD role at ZURU Group

Special New Zealand’s Stu Mallarkey has departed the award-winning agency after more than 12 years to join global consumer goods company ZURU Group as Executive Creative Director.

The appointment comes as ZURU accelerates toward its next phase of growth, scaling rapidly toward a projected $5 billion NZD in annual revenue, and doubling down on creativity as a core competitive advantage.

Mallarkey joins at a moment where ZURU is intentionally shifting its focus from building great products, to building the greatest brands for the future, brands that live in culture.

Having spent more than 12 years helping build Special into one of New Zealand’s most awarded agencies, Mallarkey brings a track record of culturally resonant, digitally-driven creative work.

At ZURU, he will lead a newly formed internal creative agency function, tasked with elevating social and content creative output, filling feeds around the world with the best thumb-stopping, fomo-inducing, culture-defining ideas for ZURU’s brands across all categories, from toys to FMCG.

Says Nick Mowbray, Co-Founder of ZURU: “We built ZURU by refusing to accept that incumbents couldn’t be beaten — moving faster, thinking bigger, and backing ourselves. The next chapter is about turning that same energy into brands the world genuinely falls in love with. Stu is one of the most talented creative minds out there, and bringing him in is a clear signal of how serious we are about becoming one of the great brand-building companies of our generation.”

Says Mallarkey: “This is an epic opportunity, to help build and shape world famous brands that live in social and culture is incredible. The ambition, scale and energy at ZURU is infectious and I can’t wait to build something that can re-define what an internal creative agency can look like.”

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