Our Team

FitzBeck is 100% New Zealand owned and operated. Our talented team has a wealth of communications, design and publishing experience.

FB Staff

Michael Fitzsimons – Director and professional communicator

Michael is a strategic communications thinker and writer. He has had more than 15 years’ experience in public sector communications, taking a prominent role in many social policy campaigns and projects on behalf of a range of clients. He has a strong background in education, employment and labour market communications. He was a former editor of Zealandia newspaper and a feature writer at the New Zealand Herald. He has co-authored two best-selling books With a Passion: The Extraordinary Passions of Ordinary New Zealanders and You Don’t Make a Big Leap Without a Gulp: Finding the Courage to Change Careers and Live Again. Michael has been awarded a prestigious Gold Quill international award for excellence in business communication. In his spare time, he helps to organise Conversations in the Pub – a regular discussion group focused on health and wellness issues.

Michael likes: trekking in national parks, Billy Collins poetry, ‘24’, biking the Miramar peninsula and Italian red wine.

Nigel Beckford – Director and professional communicator

Nigel has worked extensively in public sector communications for 15 years. During this time he has produced planning documents, policy reports, communications strategies, speeches, press releases, magazines, case studies, brochures, DVDs, television commercials and websites. He is experienced at all facets of public sector communications, design and publishing. He has also co-authored two best-selling books: With A Passion: The Extraordinary Passions of Ordinary New Zealanders and You Don’t Make A Big Leap Without A Gulp: Finding The Courage To Change Careers and Live Again. Nigel has won an International Gold Quill and a Kiwi Quill for his writing from the International Association of Business Communicators. Nigel is a guest commentator on Breakfast TV and has been a regular speaker at conferences on career development issues.

Nigel likes: music - he has a collection which would be the envy of many radio stations, and playing soccer badly.

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Jocasta Whittingham – Account Director

Jocasta has 13 years' experience in publishing and public sector communications in New Zealand and the UK. She has successfully managed many major print and web publishing projects, recently handling the rebranding of a major government agency and a brand refresh for another. She has excellent interpersonal abilities and a broad skill set ranging from writing, editing and proofreading to strategic communications planning and project and event management. She is accomplished at handling complex communications projects, delivering great results for her clients on time and on budget. She has earned a reputation as a superb event organiser and has helped to launch several major government policy initiatives.

Jocasta likes: Gimblett Gravels syrah, films, 'The Wire', bushwalks, gardening, native birds, photographing cats, holidays in New Zealand, intermittent yoga and pilates

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Kerry Deane – Graphic Designer

Kerry is a graphic design experience pre-dating the 21st century, comprising a range of skills across several design disciplines. Major projects Kerry has handled include the anti-bully campaign 'Step Up, Be Safe' and two editions of Profile & Trends for the Ministry of Education; the rebrand of Career Services; the graphics and music of 'An Evening with the Fair Trading Act' DVD for the Commerce Commission; the design and production of the Workplace Productivity Kit for the Council of Trade Unions. Other major clients include Agriculture ITO, the Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Department of Labour. Kerry’s ability to work with clients to interpret their needs, develop a brief and add creative value to design projects has resulted in very successful outcomes. He has an eye for detail that is key to FitzBeck’s quality assurance processes.

Kerry loves: his daughter's perspective, glaciers, two wheels over a rocky precipice, sci-fi, gibberish, outrageous assumptions, Bert and Ernie, chronological order, robots, gods and monsters, stop motion, guitar driven rock

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Emily Efford – Graphic Designer

Emily is an accomplished designer, illustrator and photographer, with six years’ sector experience as an in-house designer and freelancer in New Zealand and the UK. She has worked extensively with public sector clients, designing, project managing and co-ordinating photo shoots. She has also designed non-fiction and poetry books. Emily has a flair for creating clean, attractive and engaging publications that combine photography and graphics. Her design work is popular with FitzBeck clients, and she is a great asset to our creative team.

Emily likes: Batucada, yoga, funky basslines, mammals

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Milton Bell – Graphic Designer

Milton has many years experience in advertising and design. He is well versed in the practice and theory of information design. He enjoys the alchemy of type and all things abstruse. Every day he carries many heavy tomes of typography to and from work for exercise and as penance. When he is not thinking about type he is not thinking.

Milton likes: pompous language, language, languages, linguistics, semiotics, scripts, typography, type, typing, words, syllables, phonemes, stress, ambiguity, collocational analysis, brevity, circumlocution, contradiction, synonyms, redundancy, the demotic and the hieratic, theories, philosophical interlocutors, reading the blurbs on books, poppycock, and lists.

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Wil McDonald – Graphic Designer

Wil has nine years’ design experience in New Zealand and the UK, mainly in music, fashion, the arts, e-commerce and the NZ public sector. He has worked extensively in the areas of web design and multimedia development for clients including the Fortune Theatre, Sahara London fashion label, Dinniss Communications, the Department of Labour, LEADR NZ, Water Industry Training and Agriculture ITO. Wil has handled major rebrands and brand implementation for organisations such as Print NZ, Agriculture ITO and Career Services. He enjoys working with clients to understand their requirements and devise the best solution for their business needs.

Wil likes: waves, trees, surprises, rhythm, hats, and swinging a hammer.

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