Agency Named Desire Launches with Senior Partnership Leaders Backing Specialisation Over Scale

At a time when sponsorship and partnership strategies are being stretched across sport, entertainment and culture, a new independent agency has launched with a clear belief: partnerships work best when they are treated as a discipline, not an add-on.

Agency Named Desire (AND) has been founded by James Bartold, Marnie McManus and Grant Rose, bringing together senior leadership experience from brands, rights holders and agencies to address what they see as a growing gap in the market.

While the agency is a three-founder business, the leadership pairing of Bartold and McManus sits at the core of AND’s proposition a partnership forged over years working together in senior roles, most notably at independent agency Bastion.

A leadership duo built on complementary experience

Bartold steps into the Managing Director role with a background that spans both agency leadership and rights-holder commercial management, including time as General Manager of Commercial at the North Melbourne Kangaroos. His career has focused on helping major brands translate sponsorship into commercial and cultural impact, working across categories including financial services, retail and FMCG, while also maintaining a strong connection to the not-for-profit sector.

McManus, now Managing Partner, brings a global partnerships lens shaped by senior roles at Manchester City, Australian Football League and IMG. Her experience across international rights holders and premium brand portfolios adds scale and perspective to AND’s strategic offering, particularly for clients operating across multiple markets.

Together, the pair have led national and global partnerships for brands including CommBank, Bunnings, L’Oréal, Suntory, Pepperstone and Crown — experience that underpins AND’s focus on strategic clarity over tactical clutter.

Grant Rose completes the commercial picture

The third pillar of the agency, Grant Rose, brings deep operational and establishment experience, having founded Six Point and held senior commercial roles, including Chief Commercial Officer at the Sydney Swans.

Rose’s career spans rights holders, brands and advisory work, giving AND a grounded understanding of how partnerships are actually sold, serviced and scaled inside sporting organisations. His involvement strengthens the agency’s ability to navigate the commercial realities faced by rights holders a perspective that complements Bartold and McManus’ brand-led strategy backgrounds.

A specialist role in an overcrowded ecosystem

Rather than positioning itself as a full-service offering, AND has deliberately chosen a specialist lane working alongside creative, media and PR agencies as a strategic partner focused purely on sponsorships, partnerships and ambassadors.

The agency is rights-holder agnostic and values-led, aiming to help brands cut through an overwhelming volume of opportunities and focus on partnerships that genuinely support brand growth and commercial outcomes.

Despite launching publicly this week, AND has already secured an early client roster including GWM, Swyftx, HOKA, waterdrop®, Caltex, PepsiCo and Vinomofo, signalling strong market demand for senior, partnership-first advisory capability.

Headquartered in Melbourne with an Adelaide presence, Agency Named Desire plans to scale into 2026 while maintaining its specialist positioning.

For the broader sports business industry, the agency’s launch reinforces a simple message: in a crowded sponsorship market, experience, integration and discipline matter more than ever.

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