Above+Beyond Appoints Matt Steward as Partner

Independent creative agency Above+Beyond - part of The Beyond Collective - has appointed Matt Steward as partner to lead the agency alongside existing executive creative director, Dominic Goldman. Both Steward & Goldman will report to Zaid Al-Zaidy, Group CEO of The Beyond Collective.

Steward joins from Wunderman Thompson where he was chief client officer and executive board member. In his new role, he will be responsible for the agency’s holy trinity of ‘the work, the people, the money’ in line with the agency’s ‘audience age’ proposition.

Previously, Steward led Wunderman Thompson pitch wins on BT Sport and Sage that resulted in 80+ awards and several Grand Prix award across D&AD, Cannes, and the DMA. He also led the integrated business for BT, EE, Nestle and Duracell. 

Prior to this, he held two managing director positions at advertising shop RKCR/Y&R and digital agency Digitas LBi, where he led the growth agenda for its clients and oversaw the creation of award-winning campaigns for brands including Honda, Lloyds Bank, multiple Virgin brands and the BBC.

Tom Bedwell, Above+Beyond’s managing director since 2018, will maintain responsibility for some of the agency’s clients while moving into the newly created role of Managing Director of Frontier - Beyond Collective’s strategic consultancy business - with a brief to expand and develop its offering this year in line with increased client demand. 

Zaid Al-Zaidy, Group CEO, The Beyond Collective said: “I’d like to thank Tom for leading Above+Beyond through our business transformation - and, not least, the pandemic - and I look forward to continuing our work together as part of his new leadership of Frontier and its own exciting next chapter of growth. 

“Matt is a rare beast who has successfully led and grown agencies and client business across all specialist strata within our industry - from advertising, to digital, CRM and integrated. This and his client leadership of large, complex, modern and famous brands make him the perfect fit for Above+Beyond.

“He is a great believer in the power of creativity to grow business and he operates with an infectious positivity that I know will bring energy and possibility to everyone he works with. With Matt and Dom at the helm, I am look forward to an even more prosperous future of audience age creativity.” 

Matt Steward, partner, Above+Beyond added: “‘This is brilliant opportunity to grow an agency with a team that has an unswerving focus on game-changing creativity and investment in great talent which has audience age thinking at its heart. I can’t wait to get stuck in with Dom and the team. I’m giddy with excitement to see what we can do together.”