In mid-2021, having served as Managing Director at DDB Group Australia for three years, Priya Patel joined DDB Group Aotearoa as its first female Group CEO. Shortly afterwards, she developed a new role for Matty Burton, at the top of the ranks as Group Chief Creative Officer. Both Priya and Matty started their roles from the uniquely 2021 experience of their MIQ hotel rooms, eager to do whatever it took to sink their teeth into the Kiwi creative scene.
“I’d spent the bulk of my career in London, and always looked towards the southern hemisphere for work that felt a little edgier, and more experimental and imaginative,” says Priya. “Conversely, working in the UK, I’d seen some of the advantages of scale and tech advancement. My role here enables me to blend those two outlooks.”
For Priya, creating a position for Matty within
