HERO Adds More Creative Firepower With Award-Winning Senior Duo Anais Read and Katelyn Testa

HERO has further bolstered its creative ranks, with the addition of former Ogilvy, VML and Publicis senior creative team, Katelyn Testa and Anais Read.

Commenting on the hires, HERO Creative Chairman Ben Lilley says: “We’ve had a busy few months of pitches and first brought on KT and Anais as freelancers in August to help out. They were so brilliant, we didn’t want to let them go! We just kept on extending their contracts week after week until we started to convert some of the pitches. We’re just so happy to bring them on permanently. Anais and KT are a true dream team.”

The duo first met at Publicis Worldwide in Brisbane before formally linking up as a creative team at Ogilvy Melbourne. Their creative resume includes a combined 20+ years of experience at networks and indies across Australia and NZ, including Grand Prix wins from Cannes Lions to 30 Under 30 and a healthy appetite for humour in their work.

Says Read: “The culture at HERO is unlike other agencies. You walk through the doors and are hit in the face with a blast of tangerine. By day two, it’s grown on you. And by week two, you’re completely under its spell. Ben, Shane and the HERO team have created an environment bursting with energy, momentum, creativity and empathy. We’re ready to rip in.”

Hailing from Aotearoa, Read has won national and international awards, spoken on industry panels, and judged shows like the 30 Under 30 Awards, Women in Media Awards, and the Women Leading Tech Awards. She spends her time outside the 9-5 as National Creative Lead for Assisterhood – Australia and Aotearoa’s leading industry mentorship program for underrepresented people in communications.

With 11+ years of experience in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, Testa also brings strong award form and an innovative, digital-first approach to her work. Originally from regional Victoria where creativity and the arts lack representation, Testa’s passion sees her lecturing and mentoring students from disadvantaged backgrounds at a secondary school and university level across the state.

Says Testa: “As a gamer who was once told that girls don’t play video games, to seeing Maybelline’s Through Their Eyes campaign standing up for female gamers in the industry press, I knew HERO challenged stereotypes and took creativity seriously. I feel immediately at home among Anais and Kean, as well as some familiar faces from my Leo Burnett days.”

Read, and Testa are passionate about giving back to the industry and mentoring young creatives – having tutored AWARD School, spent time on Youngbloods committees, and guest lectured at universities across several states.

The pair join a new wave of hires, further bolstering HERO’s creative capabilities after recently appointing Susan Young as Creative Director, Senior Art Director Kean Szczur and enjoying a period of significant momentum. This year the agency was Australian Agency of the Year at the 2025 WINA (World Independent Advertising) Awards, where it also became the first Australian agency to rank in the global Top 10, placing sixth overall. HERO collected a Grand Prix for its Toyota C-HR Diamond Collection (which also picked up Bronze at Spikes Asia) and its instax™ ‘Mindography’ campaign for Fujifilm earned Silver at the 2025 Spikes Asia Awards, Bronze at Adfest, and shortlists at D&AD, One Show and Cannes Lions. HERO was also top-ranked Australian independent in last week’s One Asia Awards, with two Silvers and Bronze for its innovative AI-powered Transit Tales for Mastercard.

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