David Walden, CEO of the Whybin\TBWA Group, today announced the key appointment of highly regarded strategist and planner, Simon Bird, to head the planning function within the agency.

“This is a massive coup for us. Smart thinking and clever ideas have always been a priority for Whybin\TBWA and frankly the best creative ideas invariably stem from a really smart strategy. That’s why we’ve made a commitment to continue to invest in the strategic planning area and appoint Simon to lead this part of our business into the future,” he says.

“Simon was most recently part of the management team at Naked Commmunications New Zealand, where he worked on a number of accounts including Fonterra, Southland Building Society, Gravity Coffee and Dairy New Zealand. He’s a great guy, hugely talented and will provide added resource and valuable experience to our existing team of Julie Maciver and Tracey Lee,” he adds.

Prior to Naked Communications (NZ), Simon spent time with Saatchi and Saatchi in Sydney conducting all the brand planning on Toyota, where he played an integral part in one of the most awarded campaigns of 2010, Toyota Border Control. In addition, he’s worked for Mojo (on both sides of the Tasman) in senior media and account planning roles.

“Whybin\TBWA has a strong reputation for producing great creative work and I’m really excited to be joining an agency which respects and encourages the disciplines of planning and strategic input,” says Simon Bird.