BMF has hired DDB's national chief creative, Stephen de Wolf, to helm the agency's creative output following the exit of Alex Derwin earlier this year.

The news comes days after DDB Sydney confirmed de Wolf's exit, with Matt Chandler promoted to chief creative officer for DDB Sydney as the agency moves away from the national creative structure - it is understood there will be no replacement for the national CCO role. Formerly chief creative at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne and BBH London, de Wolf joined DDB in the top creative role three years ago.

During his tenure at DDB, de Wolf served on the board of DDB’s Global Creative Council and held the position of CCO at Smith Street, a specialist marketing agency servicing the Coles account. During his time at Clemenger BBDO, he oversaw a number of campaigns including Transport Accident Commission’s ‘Meet Graham’, Snickers’ ‘Hungerithm’, and Airbnb’s ‘Until We Belong’ , leading Clemenger BBDO Melbourne to win multiple Cannes Lions Grand Prix awards and be recognised as the world's most creative agency at both D&AD and Cannes.

Throughout his career, de Wolf has led the creative output for brands including Tesco, Barclays, Westpac, McDonald’s, Coles, Volkswagen, Audi, and Burger King. He has also led award-winning campaigns including Tesco’s 2020 ‘No Naughty List Campaign’, Barclays’ ‘Moneyverse’ brand relaunch, and McDonald's 'Original Mouthful'.

"From early on in my career, I’ve admired everything about BMF. They’ve been a constant creative consciousness in our industry—known for great creativity and strategy, but importantly, an amazing people culture. It’s not lost on me the shoes Alex has left to fill, but I’m looking forward to giving it a good go alongside the brilliant Steve, Christina, Tara, the two Daves, and the rest of the BMF team. I’d also like to say a big thank you to DDB and the clients for a wonderful time. Working with the team at DDB has been a privilege and career highlight," said de Wolf.

Derwin, who had spent nine years at BMF and four years as chief creative, left the agency in June to co-found creative shop Rick Barry with The Monkey's chief strategy officer, Hugh Munro.

BMF CEO, Stephen McArdle, said: "As much as I felt uncomfortable hiring someone who shared my first name, it became clear during the time we spent with Wolfie that he would be a perfect fit for BMF. His creative track record is eye-wateringly good, he holds the respect of the very best agency and client leaders globally and, most importantly, he is an incredibly lovely, considered human - and at BMF that’s means everything. Beyond that, Wolfie’s experience developing tech-enabled, immersive brand experiences before they were even-a-thing, was incredibly impressive. When you couple that with his effortless ability to lead big blue-chip businesses in some of the toughest categories in the country, such as retail and financial services, you have someone who’s pretty handy to have around. And, if that wasn’t enough, Wolfie’s experience and reputation in Melbourne is a wonderful asset in helping super-charge BMF’s renewed ambitions in that market."

The appointment of de Wolf follows BMF winning the Endeavour Group account last month and topping the Effie awards shortlist last week.