Moonsail Co-founder Paul Coghlan Embarks on New Nautical-themed Voyage
Updated: 7 days ago
Paul Coghlan is moving on to Rudder, a new business aimed at helping in-house marketing teams upskill and steer creative from within, while Samantha Hassall formalises her position as Moonsail's Managing Director
“The original plan was for Rudder to live under the Moonsail banner,”
said Coghlan.
“But as Rudder grew, it became clear that this new ship needed a devoted captain”. So Coghlan has decided to dedicate himself solely to the burgeoning venture and leave Moonsail in its strongest position ever, headed up by some of the best hands in the industry."
“Sam walked in the door a year and a half ago and started whipping us into shape immediately, so it’s only fair she takes the official title of captain of the Moonsail ship”
Also onboard is co-founder Matt Nankivell, as he takes the helm as sole ECD. Matt brings a wealth of local and global experience on brands such as Dove, Formula 1, Coke, Hellmann’s and Google while aboard other vessels including McCann London, M&C Saatchi and Ogilvy UK. I
n his previous role as Global Head of Art for Dove and Global Creative Director for Baby Dove, he was lucky enough to be part of the team that hauled in a raft of over 100 major international awards across D&AD, Effies, One Show, and Cannes, including 4 Grand Prix. After 5 years of helping building Moonsail, his leadership has attracted a strong team of creatives ready to hoist the sails.
Rounding out the leadership team is co-founder and finance director Juliet de Chalain, whose experience spans 303, Meerkats and Publicis Mojo NZ, where, fittingly, she was on the Cannes Lion-winning team that sailed a pub to the UK.
"Building Moonsail with Matt and Paul has been one of the great adventures of my career,"
de Chalain said.
"Paul has all our best wishes, leaving Moonsail shipshape and stronger than ever.”
Samantha Hassall (former Group Business Director of Saatchi & Saatchi) has a wealth of national and international agency experience across clients in all sectors, and is supported by a team of dedicated account managers led by French powerhouse Sarah Rocle (formerly the Account Lead at various international agencies including Mcann Paris – L'Oréal ,and Publicis – Renault & AXA) in her current role as Client Partnerships Director.
Hassall says,
“Coming home to Perth and having the opportunity to lead a genuinely creative agency full of astounding global experience is something I’m incredibly excited about. I can’t wait to really push the boat out with this incredible team, creatively speaking...”
she clarifies.
Moonsail has grown at an impressive pace thanks to the expertise of its people. In its first year it tripled in size and was named Campaign Brief Challenger Agency of the Year. Runner-up finishes followed in 2024 for both WA Small Business of the Year and Campaign Brief Agency of the Year, with a finalist for the same award in 2026. Along the way it has attracted some of WA's top talent and clients, with high-profile work to match.
“Moonsail has a great tailwind heading into the future, and Paul was a huge part of that. We will always be immensely thankful to Paul for his dedication to Moonsail as we built this thing together. I think we can expect Rudder to chart a similar course, and I can’t wait to see where he takes it”
Nankivell said.
“I hope this article isn’t just going to be sailing puns”
he added in vain.
"I'm incredibly proud of what we have built at Moonsail, and I couldn't be leaving it in better hands,"
said Coghlan.
Coghlan sets sail for Rudder in the last week of October.
He can be contacted via: paul@heyrudder.com.au
