Paul Coghlan appointed to vacant Creative Director role at J Walter Thompson Perth

J Walter Thompson has announced that Paul Coghlan (pictured near left) will join its Perth agency as Creative Director.

He replaces Dean Hunt, the agency’s high profile appointment in February who left shortly afterwards for ‘family reasons’.

The appointment sees Coghlan join General Manager Doni Savvides and Associate Planning Director Meredith Simpson in the agency’s leadership team. He will report directly to J. Walter Thompson’s Executive Creative Director Simon Langley (far left).

“J Walter Thompson has continued a strong pattern of growth and we’re thrilled to have Paul join the team as we move into our next phase,” said Savvides. “Having someone of his calibre and experience on the team will perfectly complement our strategic and business credentials and the strength of creative offering for our clients.”

Coghlan was most recently Creative Director at Perth creative shop Meerkats, where he spent more than eight years.  A highly regarded creative, he has received a raft of local and international awards for his work across a range of major brands, spends time lecturing and tutoring for AWARD school and the Communications Council, and sits on the National Sirens Creative Council.

“We are thrilled to have Paul join the team at J. Walter Thompson Perth. He is a Creative Director I have admired for some time, both for his award-winning work on some of Australia’s biggest brands, and his leadership qualities. His passion for creativity, strategic smarts and collaborative approach to solving client problems means he will be the perfect fit for the agency,” said J Walter Thompson ECD Simon Langley.

Coghlan said of his appointment: “I’m very excited to be joining the JWT Perth team.  I believe great ideas, whatever form they take, can positively change businesses and their brands. You only need to look at the work J. Walter Thompson is creating throughout ANZ and at a global level to know we’re absolutely aligned in that belief. Doni, Meredith and the team are very smart folk, and I look forward to us all working together to drive the growth of some of WA’s greatest brands.”

During Coghlan’s career he has worked on brands such as LotteryWest, HBF, Murdoch University, Brownes Dairy, and launched P&N Bank into WA.

Prior to joining Meerkats he worked at Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand and Clemenger BBDO Melbourne.