Aussie expat and ex DDB New York President Chris Brown joins R/GA New York as Group Managing Director

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Aussie expat and ex DDB New York President Chris Brown joins R/GA New York as Group Managing Director

A few months after departing the president role at DDB New York, Aussie expat Chris Brown has joined R/GA New York as group managing director, looking after several key clients including Samsung.

Under his leadership at DDB New York, the agency won significant new business including Heineken, BBVA, Huawei, Time Warner Cable, Henkel and Qualcomm. In January 2018 DDB was named Ad Age Agency to watch in the US.

Says Robin Forbes, vp, managing director at R/GA: “Chris has an impressive record of client advocacy, leading successful teams, and delivering impactful work that drives business success. We look forward to watching the work and culture evolve under Chris’s leadership.”

Says Brown of R/GA: “The breadth and depth of capabilities is impressive and the ability to deliver ‘transformation at speed’ is a compelling proposition in today’s dynamic business landscape.”

Brown transferred to the DDB New York office from his role as DDB Australia group CEO in June 2014.

Prior to his move to R/GA, Brown had been with the DDB network for over 22 years, starting his career at BMP DDB in London before his move to Australia, becoming DDB Group Sydney managing director in 2007 and CEO, DDB Group Australia in 2012. Under his leadership the agency has won Agency of the Year, PR Agency of the Year, Experiential Agency of the Year, Ad of the Year, Campaign of the Year and Best In Show at the IAB awards. In 2012, the agency won the prestigious Spikes Agency of the Year for Asia Pacific and Brown was named as one of APAC’s most influential 40 under 40 last year by Campaign Asia.

In Australia Brown sat on the Ad:tech advisory council for 2 years and sat on The National Communications Council Board. He was one of the Communication Council’s “Male Champions of Change” focused on improving gender diversity within the industry. In the US he sits on the AEF (Advertising Education Foundation) Board.

Whilst in New York he has implemented mandatory unconscious bias training for all employees, developed a strategic partnership with GLAAD (supporting LGBTQ initiatives) and worked with the EDGE Certification for gender equality.