National independent agency HERO has today announced the appointment of Souad Saied to the role of Sydney managing director.
Saied joins HERO following her most recent role as head of growth at Jack Morton Worldwide, based out of Singapore, where she built a reputation for strategically-driven creative solutions, cultivating relationships with major clients including Meta, ANZ Bank and Cartier.
On the new position, Saied said: “Creativity is critical to progress and innovation, and so I couldn’t be more excited to be part of a business that puts this at the forefront of how it works and what it delivers for its clients.
“HERO’s borderless and integrated approach is already proving to deliver incredible results, and I’m delighted to join the growing team to help bring this proposition to more brands in Australia.
“This new opportunity allows me to take a lead role in shaping new and existing relationships to ensure our partners are maximising the capabilities in the agency, whilst also championing continuous improvement through a commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging.”
HERO chief operating officer James Greet said: “As we seek to continue to grow HERO in Sydney it’s awesome to be able to welcome in a talented and progressive leader such as Souad.
“She’s got a fabulous track record in working with modern progressive Clients and brands at nurturing and growing client relationships. Her keen ability to help clients find creative and practical solutions to drive growth has seen her frequently take new clients from prospects to major accounts of scale – literally from zeroes to heroes – in under 12 months.”
“Then when she’s not thinking up game-changing strategic solutions for clients Souad puts her energy into championing inclusive leadership. Her passion for driving inclusivity in the workplace is truly inspiring. From advocating and implementing the adoption of mentally healthy work practices to mentoring underrepresented creatives and being part of Rare with Google’s Leadership Academy to empower the diverse leaders of the future.
“With a knack for exceeding demanding targets and her dedication to nurturing emerging talent, Souad is a huge win for HERO’s clients and our growing Sydney team.”
HERO chief creative officer Ben Coulson added: “Souad’s appointment marks an exciting expansion of Sydney’s leadership team and will further amplify the agency’s ability to deliver borderless creativity for all our clients.”
The appointment follows a strong few months of industry recognition for the agency, including four nominations at 2022’s APAC EFFIE Awards and B&T Women in Media Award shortlistings for HERO’s head of social, Elly Scales and head of brand & content, Stephanie Rinaldi.
Recent high-profile new business wins for HERO include Circles.Life, Henkel, Toyota, Microsoft, Maybelline New York, Calbee Australia and v2food.
