SYDNEY – Anna Karena has been appointed as executive creative director of Wunderman Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). Managing director Andrew Davie made the appointment, which is effective immediately.
Karena will work closely with Wunderman ANZ’s national creative director, Shanan Goldring.
A digital and direct native, Anna joins Wunderman after spending the last 15 years with Lavender in Sydney—the last five of which were served as creative director.
Karena counts both local and international awards to her name, including a Caples first place, multiple Gold Midas awards and the ADMA Grand Prix. She has also judged on a global scale and has developed great expertise, knowledge and partnerships across all of the major sectors in Australia. Some of the key brands she has contributed to include Westpac, St.George, IKEA, American Express, the RTA and Telstra.
Commenting on Karena’s appointment, Davie said, “I am absolutely thrilled to have someone of Anna’s caliber and immense creative and storytelling ability join the Wunderman ANZ team. She is a proven leader, hands-on and teams gravitate toward her. She also has terrific senior client and agency respect in the industry for her work. I am 100 percent convinced this combination will be a powerful one for our broader team, our core management group and, most importantly, our clients.”
“Wunderman is beautifully positioned to deliver the kind of data- and service-led marketing that today’s clients and their customers are buying,” Karena said. “Backed by global firepower, applied through a locally sensitive filter, it’s an offering that’s truly formidable in the Australia-NZ market. I’m so excited to be joining this team, at this time. There’s great chemistry amongst the execs—we’re already tight.”
The addition of Karena completes the Wunderman ANZ leadership team, which includes Dom Hickey as head of planning and Roc Bates as general manager across Australia.
“Anna is a leader, an inspirer and a hardcore direct and digital creative innovator,” said Lincoln Bjorkman, global chief creative officer, Wunderman. I’m thrilled to have her award-winning skills and experience brought to bear on our entire global creative network, starting in Australia. She is an extraordinary talent and a wonderful creative partner. I cannot wait to see what she does next.”
