Creative, digital and marketing recruitment agency Creative Natives has appointed Vicky Drake general manager, AdNews can reveal.
She started her career working agency-side at BMF, DDB, Leo Burnett and The Monkeys before venturing client-side at Virgin Money and eventually starting her own recruitment business.
Creative Natives founder and CEO Ryan Kelly revealed that Drake initially approached him via LinkedIn.
“I posted on LinkedIn that we were having our second child the same day that Vicky had unfortunately found out her role was being made redundant,” he told AdNews.
“Vicky reached out to me and said, ‘Congrats on number two. If I can help in any way let me know.’ And it was actually during a time when we had a lot of personnel changes within our team.
“I rang Vicky and said, ‘Actually, we probably could do with some help.’ We had multiple conversations and agreed that she’s going to come in and run the business while I'm away on parental leave.”
Creative Natives says its partnership model and “give a shit” ethos is centred on helping parents return to work after a long career break.
Drake, who will be responsible for leading the Sydney office, said she instantly felt aligned with the company’s values.
“I have admired what Ryan and the team have done from afar for a really long time,” she said.
“The things I’ve always loved about Creative Natives are the values, the things they champion, like returning to work parents because I'm one of those, and the desire to work with B Corp companies I really love as well.
“I think in the world of recruitment, acting with that kind of integrity, empathy and care is something I really relate to, so it just feels like a natural place for me to be.”
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