Publicis Mojo snares Grant Rutherford for national executive creative director role

CB Exclusive: Joe Pollard, CEO of Publicis Mojo Australia announced today the appointment

of Grant Rutherford (left) to the position of national executive creative director.

Rutherford’s 20+ year career has seen him work across many creative Australian agencies including Y&R, George Patterson Y&R and Clemenger BBDO. More recently from 2008-2012, Grant was executive creative director of DDB Group Melbourne but left in July of 2012 to pursue other personal endeavors.

Rutherford’s personal work has been acknowledged with over 150 international and national awards, including seven Cannes Lions, Gold’s at One Show, New York Festivals, Clio, London Internationals, Mobius, AdFest, Spikes, AWARD and Silver nominations at the prestigious D&AD awards. His work as ECD has a similar record.

His work includes Carlton Draught’s ‘Made from Beer’ campaign including ‘Big Ad’, which has been one of the most awarded campaigns in Australian advertising history. He has also been included in the top 10 art directors in the world in the Gunn Report.

Closer to home, Rutherford has been acknowledged with the prestigious ‘Creative Leader of the Year’ title at the Melbourne Advertising and Design Club for creative contribution to the industry. Grant’s work has been included in the permanent collection at the MoMA in New York and the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.

Rutherford has served on a number of marketing peak bodies: The Communications Council, the Australasian Writers and Art Directors Club (AWARD) and the Melbourne Advertising and Design Club (MADC). In 2010 he co-founded the Snowdome Foundation in memory of his daughter who died of Leukaemia, on which he has been working exclusively over the past

year.

Says Pollard: “We are absolutely thrilled that Grant will be joining Publicis Mojo. He is an amazing creative talent, and all round great guy. I can’t wait to partner with him and continue the forward momentum of Mojo. His leadership, outstanding creative skills and passion for communication will be a great asset for our clients’ brands and businesses.”

Says Rutherford: “The Snowdome Foundation is important to me and will always be, but it’s time to get the feet out from under the kitchen table and back under a desk. Many desks might I add.

“Joe Pollard is awesome. As a brand, she is as compelling as Mojo and the chance to build on her considerable efforts on a national level is something I just couldn’t refuse. Opportunities like this do not come every day”.

Lea Walker, partner at Hourigan International led the search for this position and did an outstanding job.

Rutherford will start in mid August, 2013.