+64 9 373 3791
leighton profile

Leighton Howl

Recruitment Director

Let's chat on 021 702 573 or at the office 09 373 3791

Leighton leads the Agency Agent Team at the Pond, placing NZ’s best creative, digital and marketing talent into freelance, contract, and full-time positions with 150 of NZ’s best digital, design, advertising, media, production, and specialist agencies – plus a growing list of agencies overseas as well.

Leighton spends the average week growing The Pond business and working closely with agency clients who understand that people are the most important ingredient in the success of their companies. 

Since founding The Pond in 2006, Leighton has grown the business into a leading player in the professional creative recruitment field, providing premium candidates, promoting better industry standards, and producing better results for clients. The Pond now represents more than 300 of NZ’s most sought-after talent across 50 key professions.

Leighton understands talented people because he worked alongside so many of them during his eight years as an ad agency creative. He was always pretty sharp at selling in his ideas, a gift that he has developed even further by successfully pitching NZ’s best creative talent to clients.

“Good people are the key to building strong agencies,” says Leighton. “Our clients want the best and newest talent in the areas of creative, design, digital, and marketing to add their magic and fulfil their ongoing needs.

“The Pond helps clients to do that, easily and robustly. We find the right candidates to nail every brief that comes through the door, plus we help creative, digital and marketing professionals find rewarding work, realise their market value, and achieve their overall career goals.”

Outside work, Leighton is a family man with one wife, two kids, one dog, and six racehorses. He’s also an avid sports watcher, gardener, red wine drinker, gym-goer, fly fisherman, part-time wannabe architect, and ex-rep rugby player.

If you want no-nonsense, practical advice about how to handle your agency’s staffing needs, and how to secure the best people and retain them, Leighton is the man to call.

Contact

Locations: Auckland, Hamilton, Nationwide, Tauranga, Wellington

Email: [email protected]

Contact Phone Number: 021 702 573

Contact Me

Full Time Roles

Senior
  • Design Director (sweet studio, pin your career at the top)
  • Auckland
  • Full Time
  • Live
Are you an awarded, well-tuned design director sitting in a London station, Sydney pub or somewhere in America, thinking – finally, the perfect role to come home for! Do you create inspiring work with meticulous design perfection? Can you lead a design studio, both its design product and people...
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Intermediate
  • Brand & Packaging Designer
  • Auckland
  • $85k - $95k
  • Full Time
  • Live
Are you a bit of a design perfectionist, someone who lives and breathes branding, and wants to work in a fun studio in a global company? Are you an intermediate designer who’s worked across the FMCG industry and knows the ins and outs of getting an idea conceptualized and production-ready?You might ...
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Senior
  • Product Design Director
  • Auckland
  • $200k+
  • Full Time
  • Live
Are you an award-winning Product Designer at the top of your game looking for a new challenge? Capable of leading a design team of talented individuals? You and the great team around you will be designing experiences for enterprise products, consumer apps, and enterprise platforms for a range of div...
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Posted at 12:19 04.09.2023

We are specialist recruiters not generalists

We recruit within the sectors we have worked in ourselves and know well, these sectors are marketing, media, sales, creative, design, digital & tech. The great thing is these sectors within most corporates work closely together and are all fashionable employment sectors that are in favour with most companies large or small.

Posted at 16:32 21.08.2023

Escape big city life with a partnership opportunity!

Are you a creative director with advertising acumen, an eye for design, and an established agency career? Can you produce big ideas that translate across traditional and digital media? This new regional agency role offers a partnership opportunity and would suit someone who is over big city life, and wants a lifestyle change. Find out more on The Pond job board!

Posted at 22:17 17.04.2023

Live: Looking for a senior brand designer - $120k

New Role. Our client, an Auckland creative consultancy & agency, is looking for a Graphic & Brand Designer to join their studio team. The designer will work closely with two other senior Designers and the Design Director across all clients and encompass all the skills and expertise in craft design, advertising campaigns, branding, digital marketing mediums, art direction, ideation and conception. Skills in typography, illustration, or photography are a bonus.

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