Exclusive: Senior TBWA team set to reunite with Mawhinney at BJL
The creative team of Pete Bastiman and Tom Richards are set to leave TBWA\Manchester to join city rival BJL as deputy creative directors.
The news will come as a blow to TBWA as Bastiman only joined the agency in June 2008 from Edinburgh agency Tsuko to partner Richards.
Bastiman (left of picture) and Richards (on the right) will join up once again with BJL creative director Billy Mawhinney (centre), who they worked with at the now defunct Edinburgh advertising agency Faulds.
At TBWA\Manchester Bastiman and Richards held the role of creative partners for copy and art respectively.
The appointments are Mawhinney’s first at the agency since he joined BJL in April and sees the team reunited from their days at Faulds where Tom and Pete worked under the creative directorship of Billy.
Speaking of the coup Mawhinney said: “This is great news for BJL. Tom and Pete are great lads and I’m looking forward to working with them once again.
"Tom is one of the most instinctive and talented art directors I've worked with and Pete will dig until he's found a great idea. They have both been building their management experience at some great agencies.
Richards, added: “It’s an exciting stage of our career joining an agency and management team that are as ambitious as we are. And we’re delighted to be working with Billy again.
And Bastiman said: “We didn’t just work with Billy, we learnt from him. His vast knowledge of the business and intuitive creative brain rubbed off on the entire department and helped us come out on top against the best agencies, both in terms of winning new business and walking away with gongs. A job he’s already emulating at BJL.”