M&C Saatchi Australia Promotes Ross Berthinussen to Head of Strategy

M&C Saatchi has promoted the highly regarded Ross Berthinussen to Head of Strategy.

He will report to M&C Saatchi Chief Strategy Officer Justin Graham, recently named Australia & New Zealand Planner of the Year by Campaign Asia Pacific for the second year running.

Berthinussen joined M&C Saatchi as Group Strategy Director in October 2014 following a storied 12-year career in London, including nine years as a key cog at strategy powerhouse BBH.

There he led the strategy for the global relaunch of British Airways among a swathe of award-winning work for multinational majors. Since then he has deployed his uniquely innovative problem-solving approach to great effect for key M&C Saatchi clients.

Highlights include pushing the NRMADE BETTER brand platform into new areas and articulating the ‘This is the New Lexus’ repositioning for the prestige car marque, including the ground-breaking Lexus Heartbeat Car execution in 2015.

M&C Saatchi Group is a confederation of 10 businesses with complementary disciplines and skillsets that focus on engaging consumers at each and every point they encounter a brand. 

In his new role, Berthinussen will closely align with strategy heads of each of those businesses to ensure a highly integrated and robust cross-discipline approach is taken to attack business problems from all sides.

Graham said: “Ross is a keen surfer who had been bizarrely living and working in the heart of London at BBH, so we needed to change that up.

“Since arriving he has demonstrated a brilliant balance of experience and relentless curiosity that has taken the strategic offering at M&C Saatchi to a new level. Combined with his child-like enthusiasm, Ross is helping us to challenge what the role of strategy should be in a creative company moving forward. This new role will enable Ross to also work closer with the strategy leads across all the disciplines in the M&C Saatchi Group, managing the 30-strong resources. We are thrilled for Ross and excited for what lies ahead.”

Berthinussen said: “I am massively excited about the opportunity we have at M&C Saatchi to become one of the leading agencies not just in Australia but in the world. We have the ambition, the team and the client partners to step beyond advertising and create ideas that impact culture in a significant way.”