Award winning strategy leader Leif Stromnes to join Saatchi & Saatchi as Chief Strategy Officer

Saatchi & Saatchi has appointed award-winning strategist Leif Stromnes to steer the agency’s strategic direction across Australia and New Zealand.

Stromnes, who will commence in January next year, steps into the role following the departure of Rachel Walker earlier this year.

Stromnes brings more than 30 years of experience, including an outstanding 25-year career at DDB Group Australia. He departed the Group in July this year, following a long tenure that saw him rise from head of strategic planning to chief strategy officer and ultimately group managing director of strategy and innovation. He first joined DDB Australia in 1999 after relocating from South Africa, where he held roles at Ogilvy & Mather and TBWA. Over his career, he played a key role in several of the agency’s major milestones – including three Campaign Brief Agency of the Year titles – and helped shape work for Tourism Australia, McDonald’s, Westpac, Telstra, Coles, Volkswagen, Virgin Airlines, Kmart and Porsche.

Over the past two decades, Stromnes has also contributed to the wider advertising community. He was a founding member of the Effie Awards and the Account Planning Group (APG) in Australia, co-chaired DDB’s Global Strategic Council, and authored Emotional Advantage, DDB’s proprietary strategic planning framework.

Based across Melbourne and Sydney, Stromnes will oversee the agency’s senior strategy teams partnering closely with chief creative officers Mandie van der Merwe and Avish Gordhan to advance the agency’s innovation agenda and application of emerging technologies.

His remit also extends to New Zealand, where he will collaborate with Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand’s executive strategy director Tim Cullihane and the local planning team.