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.
Full Time Roles
- Account Manager (Agency)
- Auckland
- $80k - $90k
- Full Time
- Live
- Graphic Designer (Health & Beauty)
- Auckland
- $80k - $85k
- Full Time
- Live
- Design Director (Packaging / Product)
- Auckland
- $170k - $180k
- Full Time
- Live
Is your recruiter better at stealing your staff than finding you new ones?
If you are losing your best creative people at the rate you're are hiring them, then your regular recruiter company maybe half the problem. In the present market there are many small recruiters operating with little infrastructure who sit on LinkedIn all day tapping your staff, tempting them into new roles and to add, most re-approach the ones they place after one year. The Pond has special terms it offers clients that means we won't actively approach and steal your staff. If you would like more information around our processes which are big on integrity, get in touch today.
We're almost 10 years old!!!
The Pond was established in Oct 2006 on the idea that there had to be a better way for creatives to find regular work, be it temporary (freelance) or permanent (full-time). With headquarters in central Auckland and an experienced team of 6 senior talent agents, we now represent a large selection (500) of the best creatives working in New Zealand, and parts of Australia and Asia.
How about overnight & weekend talent solutions?
Clients are like teenagers – they hate being rejected. So instead of saying no, say yes to all those 11th hour or Friday night briefs by grabbing a freelancer from The Pond. Our freelancers are pros at pulling a rabbit out of the hat in such pressure-cooked situations. And they don’t mind working outside normal hours. So even if your brief only comes through at 3pm we can have someone ready to go by the end of day. How's that for service!
