Saatchi & Saatchi Australia has appointed James Cowie as executive creative director and promoted Piero Ruzzene to the same role, strengthening the agency’s creative leadership across the country. The newly-created positions are effective immediately.
Saatchi & Saatchi Australia co-chief creative officers Mandie van der Merwe and Avish Gordhan said: “These are exciting times for us. Off the back of nine new brands joining our client portfolio in the last 12 months, adding and recognising creative firepower was a natural decision.
“James is an excellent talent and is as smart as he is tall. He’ll bring real depth of experience and leadership to our team and our biggest clients. We’re thrilled to have him as part of our team. And Piero has consistently and excellently delivered – winning awards, new business and our client’s hearts and minds. His promotion is not only deserved, it’s obvious.”
In a career spanning more than 20 years, Cowie has worked in New York City across major global accounts before returning to Australia. His work has been recognised at major international advertising awards show, including Cannes Lions, D&AD and The One Show.
Cowie previously worked at DDB Melbourne as group creative director until this year, following the company’s integration with Clemenger BBDO under the Omnicom-IPG acquisition.
On joining Saatchi & Saatchi Australia, Cowie said: “The chance to work on beloved Australian brands at an agency with Saatchi & Saatchi’s creative pedigree, alongside wonderful people like Mandie and Avish, was far too good to pass up. I can’t wait to dive in with the team and create the best work of my career.”
Meanwhile, Ruzzene joined the agency more than 11 years ago as a creative and was most recently creative director prior to his promotion. He has been a key driver of some of the agency’s most loved recent worl.
“I’m a Saatchi & Saatchi lifer,” he said. “From being a junior burger back in the day to a Creative Director working across many of our biggest brands, it’s been a privilege to work under such an iconic name for more than a decade. This new title is a step up, but it won’t change my drive to deliver work that lives up to the legacy across all our clients.”
