senckađ
Group745
Group745
Group745
Group745
Group745
Group745
People in association withLBB Pro User
Group745

The Essential List: Chris Hands

18/03/2022
Advertising Agency
Sydney, Australia
217
Share
Cheil Australia’s head of creative services takes us on a journey with him from UK to Australia and all that he’s seen in between

We would like to introduce you to Chris Hands, the head of creative services at Australian agency Cheil. Chris is mechanically–minded, passionate about the process, and highly motivated by delivering against (and being held to) the highest possible standards.
 
Chris’s career began in newspapers and magazine publishing in the UK, quickly migrating to the creative agency life in Australia. An extended tenure at BMF in Pyrmont helped earn his stripes in retail production, resource management and people leadership. Shorter stints in shopper marketing, through-the-line and experiential agencies led him to client side for Telco.  Now finding himself at Cheil after almost 18 months since starting a short term contract role, Chris quickly added value where needed and has now taken on the role as the head of creative services, leading his talented team in supporting workflow, structure and efficiency in and out of the creative department.

Chris prides himself on his sense of camaraderie: understanding people's strengths in order to create a robust and holistic team environment that can easily adapt to the specific requirements of a given brief at any given time. Whilst at Cheil he is supporting talent, nurturing growth and ensuring everyone is engaged and valued.
 
Chris thrives in Cheil’s current solid creative team environment, surrounded by like–minded professionals with a strong work ethic and investment in the people and the craft alike.


Lifestyle


Place of birth/Hometown: Peterborough, UK. It’s South-East. Close to Cambridge. But if anyone from Australia asks me, “I’m from London…”
Staycation: Hamilton Island. Seriously, 2 hours on a plane from Sydney and you’re in a self-contained paradise island. I’ve had longer commutes to work!


Vacation: Hawaii. Ok, so technically America, but it’s just a different way of life, the people are so humble and welcoming, yet fiercely protective and proud of their culture, I’d encourage everyone to check it out.


Pet: Siberian Husky. 10 year old nutcase called Nala.
Place of work: Cheil Australia
Place of workout: UFC Gym Rockdale – 5am club represent!
Side project: Parenthood. Or is my career the side project?
Mode of transport: I’d actually prefer to walk everywhere if I could, but invested in a nice car last year, so I can now sit in traffic on King Georges Road (in Sydney, NSW) for hours every morning in relative comfort.
Bonus travel essential: Any travel after the past two years should be considered a bonus, and essential.


Culture


Artist: Patrick Brown – Digital Artist.
Musician: Most ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘00s
Film director: Oft! So… many… answers… Spielberg, David Fincher, Tony ScotT, Taika Waititi… 
Photographer: Lee Jeffries or Richard Hirst.
Film: haha, this is like asking which is your favourite body part! They’re all pretty essential, for different reasons. Er… Jurassic Park, Aliens, Se7en, Blade Runner, Role Models etc x 1000…
Series: The Walking Dead, Love, Death & Robots, Jack Ryan, The Boys… etc x 1000
Commercial: Anything by Maximum Effort Marketing.
Video game: Resident Evil 5. Assassins Creed 1 and 2. OG Sonic the Hedgehog on Sega Mega Drive (Sega Genesis for all you non-Europeans)
Board game: Yahtzee… is a board game…ish.
Book: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Graphic novel: Batman: Hush
Podcast: I don’t podcast! Am I the only one? I feel like I’m the only one! Does that make me a sociopath? Is there a podcast for that?
Newspaper (off or online): News ‘paper’? ‘Paper’?! As in tangible print? How quaint. I get most of my news from Pedestrian, Vice and ABC.
Magazine: Probably a GQ or a Qantas in-flight magazine. I don’t remember the last time I actually bought a magazine. Oh does the Aldi Special Buys catalogue count?! Understated pleasure to grab an inflatable kayak, a hedge-trimmer and a drum kit whilst grabbing a couple of steaks for the weekend. 
Bonus culture essential: Excessive amounts of sunglasses and hats.



Food and Drink


Breakfast: Oats – but those super sweet flavoured ones.
Restaurant: Meat & Wine Co. at Barangaroo.
Cheap bite: NOT Meat & Wine Co. at Barangaroo.
Working lunch: Vietnamese Char Siu Pork Roll
Favourite dish: Japanese Wagyu Sukiyaki
Signature dish: Slow Cooked Paprika Chicken
Snack: Biscuits, cakes, anything I shouldn’t…
Guilty pleasure: Snacks?!
Bar: Smoke at Barangaroo House
Booze: Whiskies: Anything Scottish or Japanese without too much smoke.
Not booze: Not booze?! Please explain…
Bonus food: Ice Cream. (Help me. Seriously. I need help.)
Bonus beverage: Barossa Valley Cab Sauvignon / Shiraz.


Kit


Phone: iPhone 11 Pro
Computer: 2019 16in Mac Book Pro
TV: Samsung 65” 4k Smart
Headphones: JBL
Camera: iPhone 11 Pro
Soundsystem: Logitech X-530 Surround Sound PC speakers. Oldy but a goldie. Reckon the old neighbours at our previous address wouldn’t be missing Friday night movie night though.
Pen / pencil: Pen. Given the choice…
Where you document an idea: Sketch, scamp, notes.
Casual clothing: Distressed denim and a t shirt…
Smart clothing: Non-distressed denim and a collared shirt… 
Footwear: Look, I’m having a bit of mid-life moment currently and I’m obsessed with this pair of suede harness boots with a stacked heel. My wife hates them. they’re so expensive I hardly dare wear them and they don’t look nearly as good on me as the 25yo influencer on the brand look-book, but I love them!
Watch: Linear Automatic / SR2 / Classic.
Collection: Sunglasses… Hats… seriously…so many hats… haaaaalp meee!!!
App: Flightradar 24 – we live near the airport and my daughter is obsessed with planes…
Website: Hypebeast DesignBoom Graphicburger
Favourite social media feed: Pedestrian on Insta.
Work program: InDesign
Digital work tool: Outlook/Teams – seriously this WFH situation is a battle if your role previously relied on line-of-sight to create efficient communication.
Analogue work tool: The good ol’ fashioned but highly underrated “Yelling across the office”
Morning grooming / makeup essential: Hair product. Or a hat.
Bonus kit essential: Am I understating the hat situation…? Hats. Many hats. All the hats.

Credits
Work from Cheil Australia
ALL THEIR WORK