ANDREW McKECHNIE AND STUART HARRICKS LURED TO MODERNSTA! BOSTON

Modernista!has named two of Asia Pacific’s top talents, Andrew McKechnie andStuart Harricks, as Associate Creative Directors, it was announcedtoday by Gary Koepke and Lance Jensen, Executive Creative Directors andCo-Founders of Modernista!

“For an agency its size, Modernista hasa large pool of international talent in all departments,” said LanceJensen.  “These guys bring a fresh perspective.  We think their work isfantastic,”  added Gary Koepke:  “Andrew and Stuart reflect ourcreative recruiting philosophy — we don’t hire specialists. We like tohire the best all around creative athletes.”

During his time inAsia, New Zealand native McKechnie worked with Singapore’s top creativeagencies.  Most recently he was Creative Group Head at J. WalterThompson Singapore, where he worked on the HSBC, Shell, Nokia andNestle accounts.  Prior to that he was at BBDO Singapore, where hecreated the highly awarded Wrangler ‘Basic Cut’ print campaign.

“Modernista!is more of a think tank than a traditional agency,” said McKechnie. “The idea, as it should be, takes precedence over everything else.Hopefully the experience we’ve gained in Asia will add anotherdimension to the agency.”

McKechnie has won numerous regional andinternational awards, including one of the inaugural Gold Design Lionsat Cannes, multiple D&AD in-books, seven Golds and the OutdoorGrand Prix at AdFest, as well as One Show and Clio accolades. McKechniewas also named the Young Professional Of The Year by the Institute OfAdvertising Singapore and one of the Top 12 Young Creatives in theWorld by Clio.

Stuart Harricks has had extensive experienceworking throughout Asia as well as his native Australia.  Harricksworked at Leo Burnett, Sydney, before moving to Asia and gainingexperience in agencies such as Lowe, Dentsu and most recently, Saatchi& Saatchi Singapore, where he was a key creative on the SonyEricsson, ESPN, Guinness, Singapore Zoo, Singapore  Navy, Lexus andToyota accounts.

With a rank of #12 in the 2008 Campaign BriefAsia Creative Rankings, he was part of the team that took SaatchiSingapore to the #1 creative agency in Asia.  Harricks has won numerousinternational awards including merits at D&AD, Silver and Bronze atCannes, Gold and Silvers at One Show, Silvers at Clio, multipleappearances in Communication Arts and a Gold in Adfest.

“It’srefreshing to be joining an independent agency that doesn’t have tobehave as part of a network – they’re responsible for their ownidentity,” said Harricks.  “We’re both just really excited to be ableto take on a new set of challenges in a different market and add toM!’s unique blend of talent.”

Modernista! was founded in Boston, MA,USA in January 2000 by creatives Gary Koepke and Lance Jensen.  Withadditional offices in Amsterdam and Detroit, today the agency hasnearly 200 employees from more than 15 countries.  M!’s client rosterincludes Cadillac, (RED), HUMMER, Animal Planet, The Bill & MelindaGates Foundation, BusinessWeek, TIAA-CREF, Hearts On Fire and StopHandgun Violence.  Modernista! is fiercely independent.