CB Hot Suit Takes: Kate Kenyon, Senior Account Director, Berlin

CB Hot Suit Takes is our new Q&A series for senior leaders and senior suits across the WA industry ~ covering careers, creativity, challenges and the song that sums it all up. Next up in the hot seat is Kate Kenyon, Senior Account Director at Campaign Brief WA’s 2025 Challenger Agency of the Year, Berlin.

1. What made you get into advertising?
I started my career in-house in marketing, but I had friends working in agencies and it sounded much more like my vibe. I’m someone who needs variety, pace and people. I wanted to work across different brands and loved the idea that no two days would be the same. After years of chasing great briefs, I’ve landed somewhere where the work actually means something, which for me, is the right place to be.

2. Which piece of work are you most proud of?
There are so many pieces I’m proud of, the work I’m actually most proud of never even launched, killed by a competitor conflict before it saw the light of day (sigh). I loved what we made and what it took to get there, and sometimes that has to be enough.

But to sing about something that did go live, it would be launching Paramount + into the UK when I was with New Commercial Arts. Working with some huge names from Hollywood was pretty special, but what I’m really proud of is what it took to pull it off. It was an incredibly small account team delivering a colossal launch, fully integrated, epic in scale, delivering something genuinely big with a tiny team. It shows that great account management is often invisible, nobody watching that campaign would have known it was pulled off by two account people… and a lot of determination.

3. What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role right now?
I’ve always gravitated towards smaller agencies, but they come with the same challenge wherever you go. The job description is essentially whatever needs doing that day, I thrive in that environment, but carving out space for the more senior parts of my role when the day-to-day is always right there demanding attention is challenging.

4. Was there a moment, experience or mentor that kick-started your career?
My career is made up of small impactful moments rather than one big one. Like many in the industry I’ve lacked mentorship, which is a shame, but I held onto something useful from every agency I passed through. Going freelance was probably a real turning point, it gave me the choice I felt I was lacking in full time roles. It let me chase great briefs, learn from different agencies and different leaders. I loved it for years, and then I knew when it was time to settle. By that point I had all the tools and experience to know exactly which agency was right.

5. What’s the most recent thing you’ve learned — professionally or personally?
That moving home after 12 years abroad is its own kind of culture shock, even when home is somewhere you love. Perth is brilliant and I’m glad to be back, but I underestimated how long it takes to feel properly settled. Still getting there.

Professionally, I’m senior in my role but completely new to this market, which is a strange combination. Very much getting to grips with how things work here. You don’t need to get radio ads cleared? Shook.

6. What song best sums up your career so far?
We Didn’t Start the Fire by Billy Joel or Breathe by The Prodigy. Probably both, on shuffle, at the same time.

Read previous Hot Suit Takes below:

Jo Bulline – Trilogy
Brendon Lewis – The Brand Agency
Georgie Frampton – KWP+Partners
Nicole Lennox Gray – Wildlings Creative Agency
Hannah Muirhead – Chapter
Silvana Visinoni – Workhouse Advertising
Nat Green – Block
Kelsey Fraser – VML
Simon Stewart – Rare
Nita Davey – Trilogy
Magda Wood – Gatecrasher Advertising
Amber Martin – Hypnosis Creative Agency