There is a particular rhythm to creative careers — the institution, the departure, the independent venture, and sometimes, the return. Charlie Godinet, a New Zealand creative director with fifteen years of award-winning work behind him, has completed one such arc, leaving Daylight, the studio he co-founded and helped grow to 32 people, to rejoin Colenso BBDO as Group Creative Director. His departure is not a retreat but a reorientation, arriving at a moment when Daylight itself is transitioning into new leadership and a new chapter of its own.
Creative Director Charlie Godinet Returns to Colenso BBDO After Daylight Departure
Charlie shaped what this place looks and sounds like
Mark
So Godinet built Daylight from scratch in 2021, grew it to 32 people in three years, and now he's leaving. What changed?
Mimi
The source doesn't say. We know he left and Colenso BBDO offered him the Group Creative Director role, but the actual reason for the departure isn't explained.
Luke
Right—and that's a real gap. Was it a pull (Colenso made an offer he couldn't refuse) or a push (something at Daylight)? We don't know.
Mimi
What we do know is that Daylight is handling the transition deliberately. They promoted Nicole Sykes into a newly created role, and their leadership team is already majority-female.
Mark
Is that significant?
Luke
It could be. It suggests Daylight was already thinking about succession and structure. But again, we're inferring. The source just states the fact.
Mimi
Godinet's track record is substantial—fifteen years in the industry, major awards, judging at Cannes. He's not a junior person making a lateral move.
Mark
So returning to Colenso BBDO as Group Creative Director—is that a step up from what he was doing at Daylight?
Luke
That's unclear too. We don't know what his title was at Daylight or what the scope of Group Creative Director actually entails at Colenso.
Mimi
What's clear is that he's returning to a place where he already spent five years. He knows the culture, the clients, the people.
Mark
And Lowndes' comment—"we'll be keeping an eye out to see what he cooks up next"—that sounds affectionate but also final.
Luke
It does. It's a graceful exit. But it doesn't tell us whether this was planned or sudden.
Mimi
The source says the departure was announced last week, and now he's already in the new role. That's fast.
Mark
Fast enough to suggest it was already in motion.
The Pulse
- Godinet's exit from Daylight — the studio he built from the ground up in 2021 — marks a significant shift in New Zealand's independent creative scene.
- In just three years, Daylight grew to 32 staff with global client relationships, making his departure a notable disruption to a studio still in its growth phase.
- Colenso BBDO moves quickly to reclaim a familiar talent, slotting Godinet into a Group Creative Director role that signals ambition at the agency level.
- Daylight responds with purpose rather than panic, elevating Nicole Sykes to a newly created Executive Creative Director role and reinforcing its majority-female leadership structure.
- The dual transitions — Godinet's return and Sykes' ascent — suggest both organisations are actively reshaping themselves, not simply filling a vacancy.
There is a particular rhythm to creative careers — the institution, the departure, the independent venture, and sometimes, the return. Charlie Godinet, a New Zealand creative director with fifteen years of award-winning work behind him, has completed one such arc, leaving Daylight, the studio he co-founded and helped grow to 32 people, to rejoin Colenso BBDO as Group Creative Director. His departure is not a retreat but a reorientation, arriving at a moment when Daylight itself is transitioning into new leadership and a new chapter of its own.
Charlie Godinet has returned to Colenso BBDO as Group Creative Director, closing a chapter that began when he left the agency in 2021 to co-found Daylight, an independent studio built at the intersection of creativity, technology, and media.
In three years, Daylight grew to 32 people and built relationships with organisations around the world — a trajectory that made Godinet's departure last week a meaningful moment in New Zealand's creative industry. Stepping into his place is Nicole Sykes, appointed to a newly created Executive Creative Director role. She joins a senior leadership team that is majority-female, alongside CEO Lee Lowndes, managing partner Lizzie Robson, general manager Kristen Morris, and technology lead Phil Bingley.
Godinet's fifteen-year career traces a consistent path through New Zealand's most respected agencies — McCann Worldgroup, Saatchi & Saatchi Auckland, .99 (BBDO), and Colenso BBDO — with his work earning recognition at Cannes, D&AD, Spikes Asia, One Show, and beyond. Campaigns including Play by Spark, ASB Snap Scholarships, and BNZ's The Most Prosperous ATM reflect the ideas-driven, craft-focused approach he describes as his through-line.
Lee Lowndes offered a warm farewell, acknowledging that Godinet shaped what Daylight looks and sounds like. The return to Colenso is familiar ground — but both organisations are stepping forward into something new.
Charlie Godinet is back at Colenso BBDO. The creative director, who left the agency five years ago to build something of his own, has accepted the role of Group Creative Director following his recent departure from Daylight, the independent studio he co-founded in 2021.
Daylight was built at the intersection of creativity, technology, and media—a deliberate positioning that reflected Godinet's multidisciplinary approach to the work. In just three years, the studio grew to a team of 32 people and established relationships with organizations around the world. That growth trajectory, and the studio's reputation for ideas-driven work, made Godinet's departure last week a notable shift in the New Zealand creative landscape. He is being replaced by Nicole Sykes, who steps into a newly created Executive Creative Director role. Sykes joins a leadership structure that is majority-female: CEO Lee Lowndes, managing partner Lizzie Robson, general manager Kristen Morris, and technology lead Phil Bingley round out the senior team.
Godinet's career spans fifteen years across some of New Zealand's most respected creative agencies. Before Daylight, he spent five years at Colenso BBDO, from May 2016 to July 2021. Before that, he worked at Saatchi & Saatchi Auckland for three years, then at .99 (BBDO) for two and a half years, and started his career at McCann Worldgroup in 2009. The through-line is consistent: he describes himself as ideas-driven, craft-focused, and strategically minded.
His work has accumulated significant recognition. He has won multiple D&AD Pencils in Film and a Grand Prix at Spikes Asia. His broader award history includes wins at Cannes, One Show, AXIS, Effie, NZDM, and the Best Awards. Some of his most notable campaigns include Play by Spark for Spark, ASB Snap Scholarships, BNZ's The Most Prosperous ATM, Mainland's 2000 Piece Voucher promotion, and Anchor Protein+. Beyond his own work, Godinet has served as a judge at major award shows: he was on the Cannes Lions shortlisting jury in 2026, judged the AXIS Awards in 2023 and 2024, the Best Awards in 2023, and Ad Stars in 2020.
Lee Lowndes, Daylight's CEO, offered a warm send-off. He said Godinet shaped what the studio looks and sounds like, and that the team will miss him. Lowndes added that they'll be watching to see what Godinet does next. The move marks a return to familiar ground for Godinet, but at a moment when Daylight itself is stepping into a new chapter under Sykes' leadership.
Notable Quotes
Charlie shaped what this place looks and sounds like. We will miss him dearly, and we'll be keeping an eye out to see what he cooks up next.— Lee Lowndes, CEO of Daylight
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