I’m a South African-born creative director based in Chicago, with 20 years of experience making ideas across three continents and some of the world’s best agencies and brands.

Along the way, I’ve been lucky enough to win three Cannes Grand Prixs, D&AD Pencils, and Golds at Cannes, the Clios, One Show, and LIA. I’ve also judged at D&AD, One Show, and the South African Loeries. At Ogilvy Johannesburg, I was named South Africa’s top art director twice, ranked in the top ten five times, and among the top art directors in the world three times.

But awards are really just proof that an idea made it out into the world. What keeps me excited is searching for the idea in the first place - understanding people, spotting the unexpected detail, finding the human truth, and turning it into something people actually want to see.

I’m endlessly curious, especially about culture, innovation, and what new technology is making possible. I like learning from everywhere, questioning the obvious, and staying a little uncomfortable - because that’s usually where the interesting stuff starts.

And then there are Judah and Gabriel, my two sons, who are by far my proudest achievements. They keep life loud, funny and wonderfully chaotic.

EXPERIENCE

2025 - present: Global Creative Director

Ogilvy Chicago, USA

SC Johnson, Dove, City of Chicago, Chobani, Coca-Cola, Tylenol, Northern Trust, Bloomberg, Workday

2024 - 2025: SVP Creative Director

Leo Chicago, USA

Kelloggs Co. Beam Suntory

I led and mentored a team of 20 creatives, pushing for work that was smart, unexpected, and worth paying attention to. I led campaigns for brands including WK Kellogg’s Co. and Beam Suntory, partnering closely with strategy, account, and production teams to turn big ideas into work that moved people and delivered for the business.

I loved being in the work—from the first messy thought to the final execution. I believed in giving people room to think, challenging each other to make the work better, and building a team where people felt supported enough to take risks. The goal was simple: do great work, have a good time doing it, and leave things better than we found them.

2020 - 2024 Global Creative Director

Ogilvy Chicago, USA

Tyson, SC Johnson, Dove, Absolut, City of Chicago

After nine very successful years at Ogilvy Johannesburg, I was lucky enough to be headhunted by Ogilvy Chicago to take on the role of Global Creative Director for SC Johnson. It was an exciting opportunity to lead the global creative communications for Glade, one of the world’s biggest names in Air Care—and, at the time, one of the largest pieces of business in the Ogilvy global network.

My job was to help evolve the brand beyond the usual category clichés and make it feel more modern, relevant, and culturally connected. I oversaw the creative across the globe, from traditional advertising to product design and positioning, innovation, paid and organic social, brand activations, and everything in between.

It was a big, complex piece of business, but also a lot of fun. I worked with teams and talent around the world, always looking for ways to make the work fresher, braver, and more interesting.

Alongside Glade, I also worked on new business and a number of other blue-chip Ogilvy Chicago clients, helping bring a creative point of view to some pretty ambitious challenges.

2011 - 2020: Creative Group Head

Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg, South Africa

Cadbury, KFC, GSK, DStv, Greenpeace, Audi, Philips, Coca-Cola, Unicef, AB INBEV, Investec

I spent nine very formative years at Ogilvy Johannesburg, and they were some of the most rewarding of my career. I was named South Africa’s Best Art Director twice, based on international creative points, and made the Top Ten five times. Along the way, the work picked up more than 17 Cannes Lions, including three Cannes Grand Prix in consecutive years - a pretty surreal run.

We also won Golds and top honors across the industry’s biggest shows, including nine D&AD Pencils, One Show, Clios, LIA, Loeries, and many more. I was especially proud when WPP awarded me its Crème de la Crème Award for Best Advertisement across the entire WPP network - one of those moments that really sticks with you.

But the awards were only part of it. The brands I worked on consistently showed up among South Africa’s Top Ten Best Brands in the Sunday Times rankings, and many were recognized for creative excellence across Africa and the Middle East. I had the chance to work on some incredible brands, including Lucozade, KFC, Castle Lager, and Cadbury, and to build work that was both creatively ambitious and genuinely connected with people.

Looking back, what I value most about those nine years isn’t any single award. It was the opportunity to work with brilliant people, on big, challenging brands, and to keep raising the bar for what the work could be

2009-2011: Senior Art Director

MetropolitanRepublic, Johannesburg,South Africa

MTN South Africa and Africa, FNB, Aveng, Wimpy, Kitty & Puppy Haven, CSS and Arrive Alive.

I worked as an art director on MTN, a huge global mobile network operating across 19 markets. It was a seriously big piece of business, and one that gave me an early taste of what it meant to create work at scale—balancing different markets, audiences, cultures, and business challenges while keeping the creative idea strong.

I worked on fully integrated campaigns that ran across multiple markets and channels, and it was an incredible learning experience early in my career. I also had one of those career-defining moments when a TV campaign I created for Drive Alive won a local Vuka Award, earning me a place in the Cannes Young Lions Film competition. I was fortunate to win a Silver Lion, which was an unforgettable experience and a really encouraging moment for me early in my career.

2008-2009: Art Director

TBWA Cawley-Nea, Dublin, Ireland

Heineken, Tesco, Topaz (Shell), Irish Times, Pedigree and Whiskas.

I was recruited from South Africa to join the team as an art director and lead creative, which gave me the opportunity to step into a leadership role quite early in my career. I was responsible for developing ideas and overseeing junior creative teams, helping shape the work while also mentoring the people behind it.

During my time there, I worked on integrated, high-impact campaigns for brands including Sony PlayStation, Jameson Whiskey, and The Irish Times. It was an exciting mix of brands and challenges, and a great opportunity to learn how to lead teams while continuing to stay close to the creative work.

2007-2008: Art Director

MetropolitanRepublic, Johannesburg,South Africa

MTN South Africa and Africa, FNB, Aveng, Wimpy, Puppy Haven,

CSS and Arrive Alive.

2005-2007: Junior Art Director

TBWA Hunt Lascaris, Johannesburg, South Africa

Jameson Whiskey, Standard Bank, BMW, Sasol, Tiger Brands, Welede Pharmacy, National Lottery and SAFACT.

I joined the agency as an art director, with a real focus on integrated thinking - finding the big idea and figuring out how it could live across different channels and experiences. I was also a key part of the new business team, pitching on some pretty prestigious brands including BMW, Standard Bank, Tiger Brands, WWF, MTN, and Jameson.

I was eager to learn, deeply invested in the craft, and always wanted to be part of making the work better. It was incredibly rewarding to see that work contribute to the agency being named Global Agency Network of the Year by Advertising Age in 2005. It was an early reminder that great creative work can have a much bigger impact than the work itself.

2001 - 2004

Vega, The Brand Communications School

BA,Creative Brand Communications

Major: Art direction