M&C Saatchi Appoints Top Creative Duo Mandie van der Merwe + Avish Gordhan as Joint-ECDs
Multi-award winning creative duo Mandie van
der Merwe and Avish Gordhan have been appointed joint executive
creative directors of M&C Saatchi Sydney.
Recognised
at D&AD, Cannes, The One Show, Spikes Asia, AWARD, ADMA, the Loerie
Awards and many more local and international shows, van der Merwe and
Gordhan have worked across three continents in the past 10 years.
The appointment is effective immediately.
The pair were previously CDs at Cummins&Partners Sydney and departed in July last year. The duo led Cummins&Partners Sydney to become one of the Top 20
Independent Agencies in the World and Spikes Asia Independent Agency of
the Year. Most recently the team was awarded Best in Show at AWARD for
Stop the Horror (Go Gentle Australia). Prior to Cummins&Partners they were senior creatives at TBWA\Sydney.
They have previously held roles at The Jupiter Drawing Room, DraftFCB
Cape Town, TBWA/Hunt Lascaris, Fortune Promoseven Bahrain and Black
River FC.
They have a particular focus on effective creativity which has
yielded awards at the Global Effies, the Australian Effies and South
Africa's APEX Awards for effectiveness. Past clients include Fox Sports,
Nando's, Tourism New Zealand, David Jones, MINI and Virgin Money.
Says
Cam Blackley, chief creative officer of M&C Saatchi: "This is a
coup for M&C Saatchi. As we look to flex our creative capability and
offer, I couldn't think of a better, more creative duo to fill the ECD
hot seats. Mandie and Avish are pure quality. They are lovely,
thoughtful, quirky individuals who genuinely care about the work and
have a formidable track record in non-traditional thinking. Throw group
creative director Andy Flemming into the equation and we have the right
leaders in place to really make some truly special work in the
foreseeable future."
Says van der Merwe: "The
first time we met Cam, we knew we loved him. He has a wicked sense of
humour and is very generous with his creativity. He is also really
articulate about the vision for M&C Saatchi. Everyone here has a
real love for this business and there's a determination to shape not
just this agency but also the industry."
Says
Gordhan: "There is an intimidatingly deep pool of creative talent and
experience at M&C Saatchi. So to be part of this team, and to build
and grow with it, is both very exciting and humbling. I feel invigorated
by this opportunity."
