In a major hire for M&C Saatchi, Michael Canning is joining the independent global network as the Executive Creative Director of its 400-person Sydney office.

A native of Sydney, Canning joins M&C Saatchi Australia after five years in the USA, most recently in Los Angeles as part of the creative leadership at 72andSunny, which Fast Company named in its top 50 most innovative companies of 2015.

Prior to 72andSunny, Canning worked with Leo Burnett in New York, focusing on the growth of key business for both Leo Burnett North America and Leo Burnett Worldwide. At Leo Burnett Canning was one of the global network’s youngest Executive Creative Director’s and member of the Global Product Board.

As the executive creative director at M&C Saatchi Australia, Canning will oversee all brands and creative product at the Sydney office which is one of the region’s most awarded agencies, recently ranked the number two agency in Asia Pacific in the Cannes Lions Global Creativity Report, with clients including bluechips Optus, Google, NRMA Insurance and Commbank.

Canning said: “I’ve been lucky to work with some great people in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago in recent years. M&C Saatchi Australia is a company I have always respected for the impact they create for big brands, and being asked to help lead a new chapter alongside this team has proved impossible to pass up. It’s a bonus that the global creative ambitions we share are based in Sydney”.

M&C Saatchi Australia chief creative officer Andy DiLallo said: “Michael has constantly created some of the industry’s most iconic and lauded work. Bringing him into the fold of M&C Saatchi is a testament to our commitment to offer clients the greatest competitive advantage creativity has to offer. In Michael’s new role he will also help to shape, inspire, and lead a creative department with a single-minded focus to be the best bar none”.

Over the past decade Canning has been widely recognised as one of the world’s foremost creative talents. With a career spanning Australia and the USA, he has earned a reputation for his leadership of content and new approaches to media that have a cultural impact for brands.

As one of the most awarded creatives worldwide, Canning has been recognized with 40 Cannes Lions at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity including two Grand Prix for Media, two Agency of the Year titles and the inaugural Gold Lion for Branded Content and Entertainment. Other global accolades include the One Show Entertainment ‘Best of Show’ award in Los Angeles, the Clio Awards Hall of Fame, MTV Music Video nominations and Young Gun of the Decade. In 2015, Canning was invited to serve on the prestigious Cannes Lions Titanium and Integrated Jury.