M&C Saatchi Sydney has made further moves to bolster its team with the appointment of BBH London strategy director & partner, Ross Berthinussen.
Reporting to chief strategy officer Justin Graham, Berthinussen will take up the newly-created role of group strategy director. He will relocate from London, where he has worked for the past nine years, and is set to help shape and drive M&C Saatchi Group’s strategic offering.
Berthinussen is the latest addition into the M&C Saatchi fold which also includes the recent appointments of group strategy director Kate Smither, from Ogilvy & Mather where she was global planning partner, and Lavender head of planning, Victoria Curro to strategy partner on the Group’s CRM business LIDA.
In particular, Berthinussen will lead strategy on the NRMA/SGIO and SGIC direct insurance brands in addition to Lexus and Google.
Berthinussen previously led the strategy for the global relaunch of British Airways with the award winning ‘To Fly To Serve’ brand idea. He was also integral to the multi-award winning ‘Don’t Fly’ campaign for British Airways’ sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games. Meanwhile, he led the strategy for KFC, developing a new brand positioning.
Berthinussen cut his teeth at Grey London from 2002-2005. He has also picked up APG and Marketing Society Golds and IPA Effectiveness metal awards.
Graham said: “Ross is one of the most innovative strategic thinkers anywhere. He attacks clients’ business challenges from all sides, making the seemingly complicated brutally simple and has a track record of developing truly ground-breaking, integrated solutions.
“Most crucially though he is hard wired to provide the sort of long-term strategic leadership and vision within the agency and on our key pieces of client businesses.
“As a mad-keen surfer, he’s also going to have more luck catching some decent swell here than in London,” Graham added.
Berthinussen said the decision to come halfway around the world to join M&C Saatchi was “surprisingly easy”.
“They are an agency that has embraced innovation at its core and has an insatiable appetite to solve clients’ business problems in ways far beyond advertising," Berthinussen said.
“I believe with the resources and people they have invested in they have the potential to lead not just this market, but the world. It’s extremely exciting.”
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