DARKHORSE bolsters stable with several hires and promotions; Francesca Kelly elevated to MD; Pip Bagley to director of operations ANZ role

December 10 2024, 12:51 pm | BY Ricki Green | No Comments
DARKHORSE bolsters stable with several hires and promotions; Francesca Kelly elevated to MD; Pip Bagley to director of operations ANZ role

After a record year, brand experience, PR and social agency DARKHORSE has announced several recent hires and a 2025 New Zealand leadership team to support its ambitious local and regional growth plans.

 

Following founder and CEO Mike Hewitt’s move to the agency’s Sydney office, managing director Francesca Kelly (above left) will lead DARKHORSE New Zealand. Former head of experiential Pip Bagley (right) moves into the role of director of operations ANZ, with recently hired event management veteran Kim Milne stepping into the experiential group director position.

Also joining both the stable and the NZ leadership team is senior social account director Felicity Christmas, who has honed her expertise in social and digital media over a decade working with clients such as New World, Mitre 10, Asahi and Hello Fresh.

Rounding out the New Zealand leadership team for 2025 is DARKHORSE’s head of creative and strategy Rachael Crosby, group communications director Nicole Haysom and head of finance Hayley Bowater.

The appointments come alongside two additional recent hires, as DARKHORSE’s New Zealand office continues to expand following multiple client wins like Briscoe Group, Snapchat, Manuka Health, SodaStream and NutriBullet.

Digital expert and founder and director of iconic fashion platform, That Looks, Becca Haeger has joined DARKHORSE as social media account manager. Haeger brings her unique experience to elevate client shoots and social media accounts, and is already rolling out creative and distinctive work for DH clients like Rebel Sport.

Beau Adam has joined the agency’s PR team as communications account manager. Adam was previously the brand and consumer activation manager at L’Oréal, a longtime DARKHORSE client that she continues to work with in her new agency-side position.

Says Kelly: “With Mike driving our global expansion from Sydney, the dynamic line-up of women leading the agency here in New Zealand, and the talented teams across all three of our offices, I couldn’t be more excited for the year ahead. It’ll be hard to top 2024 but with the incredible people, clients and growth plans we have, 2025 is already looking like it might!”