Carrasco to depart ECD gig at Mojo Auckland

CB Exclusive (updated) – CB can reveal that Rebecca Carrasco, the ECD of Mojo Auckland, who has only been in the job since June, is leaving the agency on Friday to return to Sydney for personal reasons.

“Given the inherent potential at Mojo Auckland and some fantastic people right around the company, this was a tough decision for me to make, but I am compelled to come home,” says Carrasco.

Back in Sydney, Carrasco will continue with her position on AWARD’s Executive Committee and her PhD in Ideas at UTS.

The highly awarded Carrasco, who replaced Steve McKenzie in the ECD role, startedher career at Colenso BBDO New Zealand in 2003, employed by then ECDMike O’Sullivan after taking out YoungGun of the Year in 2003.

Latershe followed O’Sullivan to Saatchi’s NZ. In 2005 she transferred toSaatchi & Saatchi Sydney, hired by then ECD David Nobay. In 2006she left to set up a PhD on the power of ideas in public communication, and later that year decided to join Lowe Hunt, Sydney, where she met creative director Dejan Rasic. In May 2007 she joined him and Lowe Hunt CEO Ben Colman to form CRC.

Carrasco’s international awards tally includes a United Nations Awardand the Asia Pacific Child Rights Award for her MTV Exit Foundationcampaign, which featured anti-trafficking music videos for bands suchas Radiohead and The Killers. Her work has been recognized with goldmedals at Cannes, One Show Entertainment, One Show, Clio, New YorkFestivals and AWARD. She has also been awarded at The Andys, D&AD,and the London Internationals. Locally, her MTV (Welcome Snoop) workachieved Campaign of the Year at the B&T Awards and AWARD, as wellas the AWARD Client of the Year.  In 2008, her own agency was namedAdNews’ Emerging Agency of the Year.

She has been invited to judge Agency of the Year Awards for AdNews,B&T, Australian Creative, and Fairfax Media Marketing. She has beenon juries at The Andys, Clios, New York Festivals, LondonInternationals, YoungGuns, and AWARD. She is on the AWARD ExecutiveCommittee and is co-head of AWARD School. She has addressed TheCaxtons, PADC, and the Youth Marketing Forum. 

Her clients have included MTV, MTV Exit, Barclays, iShares, Cerebos,Premium Beverages, BMW Mini, NZ Telecom, Sky City, Tip Top,Masterfoods, Toyota, Frucor, TVNZ, and TV3. She is undertaking a PhD inideas at the University of Technology, Sydney.