19 February 2026‍

We’re excited to share a series of leadership appointments as we continue to grow and evolve as one of the world’s leading independent agencies. Sasha Firth, Simon Gibson, Nils Eberhardt and Christie Meischke are stepping into key national roles - strengthening our leadership bench and shaping the next chapter of Special Australia.

Sasha Firth has been appointed Managing Director, leading Special Australia nationally alongside Tori Lopez, who has been part of the business since day one. Since joining in May 2024, Sasha has made a significant impact, most recently leading Melbourne and driving strong momentum across clients, culture and performance. In her expanded role, she’ll focus on deeper national integration and building a future-fit operation across AI, technology and innovation, while continuing to oversee Melbourne with additional senior support to be announced soon.

We’re also welcoming Christie Meischke as our new People & Culture Director, a newly created national role reflecting our commitment to putting talent and culture first. Christie brings deep experience across HR, policy and employee experience, including leading impactful wellbeing initiatives. She’ll spearhead our people strategy across Sydney and Melbourne, ensuring we continue to create the environment where the best talent can thrive.

Simon Gibson and Nils Eberhardt have been promoted to Executive Creative Directors, recognising their long-standing creative partnership and the role they’ve played in shaping both our work and our culture. Over the past nine years at Special - five as a duo - they’ve helped lead some of our most recognised campaigns, including Uber Eats’ “Get Almost, Almost Anything”, Kathmandu’s “We’re Out There”, Uber’s “Can’t Do That If You’re Driving”, Tourism New Zealand’s “Good Morning World” and Kitchen Warehouse’s “Mum-nipulate The Algorithm”. Based in Sydney, they’ll continue providing hands-on creative leadership across brands, projects and new business, alongside Ryan Fitzgerald, who continues as Executive Creative Director in Melbourne.

At Special, we’ve always believed our only real differentiator is our people and the culture we build around them. These appointments reflect that belief and our ambition to keep raising the bar for the brands we’re privileged to partner with.

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