Dentsu Creative's global ECDs Darren Urquhart and Tom Smith depart

Dentsu Creative global executive creative directors Darren Urquhart and Tom Smith have left the agency to go freelance.

The duo had led the American Express UK account since joining the agency in December 2022 from Ogilvy New York.

On LinkedIn, the pair posted: “Due to a difference of opinion about whether we should be employed or not, we’re moving on from our last place. Very grateful to have worked with and learnt from Sue Higgs, Caroline Pay and Julie Scelzo.”

Higgs, who left the business last September as Dentsu Creative UK’s executive creative director, handed leadership of its creative teams to Urquhart and Smith. She mentored the pair earlier in their career. 

Pay left the UK agency last summer as chief creative officer, alongside Theo Izzard-Brown, chief strategy officer. They both left without a job lined up. Caitlin Ryan was appointed last month as creative partner, joining from Meta, taking on Pay’s responsibilities. 

Urquhart and Smith reported to Scelzo, who remains at Dentsu Creative as the global client's chief creative officer.

The pair have launched a freelance business called Urquhart and Smith. They wrote on LinkedIn that they are “currently booked up. But for anyone, we somehow didn’t piss off in the past, if you want us, we’re available in early March.”

Before Dentsu, the duo spent seven years at Ogilvy New York, leaving as group creative directors. Previously, they worked as creatives at M&C Saatchi and Ogilvy & Mather in London, under Higgs's mentorship.

Dentsu Creative has been undergoing a series of changes under the leadership of Jessica Tamsedge, who took up her chief executive role in 2023. It is restructuring its business into three divisions: brand, experience and connected content. 

Tamsedge said: "‘We are immensely grateful for Darren [Urquhart] and Tom [Smith]’s contributions to Dentsu Creative over the past two years. Their impact has been felt by our teams, clients and partners and we wish them all the best in their next chapter’"