Kiwi expat Mark Forgan departs L’Associé Paris for executive CD role at Special Wellington

Special attracts more international talent back to Wellington – appointing Mark Forgan as ECD of Special Wellington.

Special has announced Mark Forgan as the new executive creative director of Special Wellington, following an extensive global recruitment search.

Forgan returns to Wellington, where he began his career, after 15 years of working for several top agencies in Paris including Y&R, CLM BBDO, Rosa Paris, Ogilvy and most recently L’Associé.

No stranger to launching world-class agencies, a career highlight was helping start back in 2012 one of the most creative – Rosa Paris.

Says Forgan: “The one New Zealand agency that constantly gained my attention while being away was Special, I love their approach to creativity, it’s never expected and yet has that ‘exigent’ signature touch when it comes to craft that makes it feel somewhat…Special.

“Wellington is known for being the creative capital of New Zealand; historically the work that has come out of the city across all fields of art, design, film and advertising has been world-class. I want Special to continue giving Wellington the creative kudos it’s famed for. I could not be more excited to bring the experience I’ve gained from Paris and to work alongside some of the greatest creative minds that our capital has to offer.

“I can’t wait to join the diversely talented group that’s already on the ground in the Wellington office and help build Special into that agency that keeps turning heads a little further south than they’re used to.”

Says Tony Bradbourne, founder and CEO, Special Group: “We launched Special Wellington with a vision of trying to add to the Wellington creative community, not just with the unique strategic and creative work that Special produces, but also with the talent we attract.

“Mark is a perfect fit for Special Wellington – a local talent who brings home a huge amount of international experience and a real desire to create world-leading work from the capital. He joins an amazing team of people, a brilliant mixture of Wellington stars we’ve long admired, leading talent we are lucky enough to bring back into the industry, and with Phil Baker and now Mark Forgan, real international talent that we have attracted back to Wellington from around the world.”

Says Phil Baker, general manager, Special Wellington: “We’re immensely proud to be welcoming Mark into the Special Wellington whānau. He is a rare talent with an impressive skill set that will really make our team shine. We’re excited to see Mark continue his creative legacy with Special.”

Forgan joins Special Wellington on October 3rd and will focus on continuing to build out the Wellington creative team, lead new business development and contribute to the vibrant Wellington creative sector.