Holden takes off on Rocket

New PHD has poached OMD UK associate director Mark Holden to take up the position of creative director at Rocket, completing the line-up of senior management at its strategic media subsidiary.

Holden will work alongside former head of media Tim Forrest, who has been promoted to the role of managing director, and media group head Jean Ash, who steps up to take Forrest’s role.

Holden will not be allocated responsibility for any specific accounts but will work across the whole portfolio, which includes Emap, Eidos, Harvey Nichols and Granada Sky Broadcasting.

He will be charged with ensuring that Rocket maintains creativity and strategic thinking at the heart of its offering to clients. Holden won the Media Idea of the Year category at the Media Week Awards last year for his work on the Volkswagen UK account. At OMD he also mainly worked across the Crookes Healthcare portfolio, including brands such as Nurofen, Strepsils and Sweetex.

In July last year he was responsible for negotiating a £1 million sponsorship deal with Carlton’s Peak Practice on behalf of Crooke’s E45 cream.

New PHD managing partner Jonathan Durden and chief executive David Patterson are also understood to be close to naming a replacement for former joint managing director Jon Wilkins, who left with Harlow to form creative media start up Naked.