Stanley St promotes group creative director Anna Yates to executive creative director role

Stanley St has unveiled a major appointment to its leadership team with Anna Yates promoted to the role of executive creative director.

As a highly respected creative leader, Yates is known for her vision, her focus on innovative, fame-building ideas, and her dedication to nurturing local talent. Internationally she’s recognised for creating award-winning campaigns for the likes of Amnesty International, Samsung, Tourism New Zealand and KFC – with her work nabbing top honours at Cannes, Effies, OneShow and D&AD, to name a few.

In her new role, Yates is set to take the Stanley St creative offering to new heights, leading the creative and social departments into a new era of data-driven, digitally-led creativity.

Says Yates: “I’m excited to be stepping up to the plate to drive noteworthy work, both for our existing clients, and new clients looking for a more integrated approach to their marketing. I strongly believe there’s nothing more powerful than a creative idea that transcends the medium and embraces new technologies in unexpected ways – always backed by real human insight and storytelling.”

Says James McHoull, managing director at Stanley St: “Having worked with Anna for over two years I’ve seen first-hand how dedicated she is to her craft. She’s passionate about the clients she works with and I’m looking forward to her taking the lead as executive creative director. Anna’s deep understanding of our clients’ businesses, her ability to leverage Stanley St’s uniquely integrated model and the energy she brings to the department make her the perfect fit to lead our creative offering.”

Stanley St, one of New Zealand’s largest independent agencies, is on a trajectory of change – moving into the future by fuelling its creative outputs with richer data, tech and AI-driven solutions.

Adds Susan Browne, chief operating officer at Stanley St: “As the industry evolves, so are we. And with the world changing around us, we needed someone with rich experience of the old, whilst whole-heartedly embracing the new. Future-focused and strategic, with an unstoppable drive to create world-class work, Anna is a creative force. It’s also great to have another woman in a leadership position for what is traditionally a male-dominated role.”