Ex-Cummins CEO/founding partner Chris Jeffares joins content production company Safari

Chris Jeffares has joined adventure, lifestyle and tourism content production company Safari.

Jeffares, previously CEO and founding partner at Cummins&Partners and board director of the Advertising Council of Australia, has spent the past 12 months working across Stomping Ground Brewing Co and sportech startup Refbook.

Safari is a leading adventure and lifestyle content production business, which was originally founded by Andrew Englisch and Nigel Camilleri to capture the global movement to embrace the outdoors. All three had previously worked together on content projects that crossed the globe in Niseko, Tokyo, Oregon, India, China, Queenstown and even Las Vegas.

Safari has grown rapidly, working with tourism and experience brands like Anaconda, Mountain Designs, Visit Victoria, Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism, Visit Gippsland, Accolade Wines (Global) and Kitchen Warehouse. They have also developed an automotive production speciality, partnering with agencies on Ford, Mercedes Commercial, Lexus, Land Rover, BMW and Fuso.

Says Nigel Camilleri, director at Safari: “CJ is one of the best strategic and entrepreneurial minds in the creative and content industry, and shares similar values and philosophies to us in everything from work to life. We see Safari as having great opportunities to expand into branded-content, owned IP productions, and simply doing awesome-fun-work for brands that deliver amazing experiences and those that lift emotions. There is nothing better.”

Jeffares will join immediately as a partner in Safari, with a focus on further establishing its unique adventure model which integrates its own film production, photography, talent and location capabilities. He will also lead expansion into Safari-owned content productions and partnerships, starting with a world-first wingfoil documentary later this month. This follows its incredibly timely ARRIVAL photographic exhibition developed in partnership with Melbourne Airport.

Says Jeffares: “I have always loved these guys for their energy, entrepreneurial spirit, diverse skills and the flexibility of Safari was unrivaled compared to a number of other agency roles that I was sounded out about. They go a lot further than work life balance, having established lifestyle as integral to creativity, wellbeing and business model. With so much discussion about work-from-home balance, it was exciting to join a work-from-anywhere business that has us connecting from surf beaches, sandy campsites, river crossings, mountains and snowfields. How can you say no to that?”

Says Andrew Englisch, filmmaker and photographer, Safari: “CJ was always the right partner for us, as he compliments our skills and matches our energy and love for adventure and the outdoors. Anyone who will jump out of a helicopter with me into waist deep snow on a razor- edge ridgeline and then learn to wingfoil in a pandemic is the perfect fit.”

Whilst at Cummins&Partners, he led them to being ranked #11 Independent Agency in the World at Cannes and won 18 x Agency of the Year awards. He was also nominated multiple times for Agency Leader of the Year and holds the rare ‘integrated grand slam’ of having won creative, media, social and digital AOTY awards.

He will still retain Advisory Board roles with Stomping Ground Brewing Co and sportstech start-up Refbook. Stomping Ground has just been awarded Best Large Brewery in Australia at the Australian Independent Beer Awards, won Best Brewpub in Australia a record 4 times in a row and now has 4 venues across Victoria.

Adds Jeffares: “Steve, Guy and JJ are the best in the biz and I thoroughly enjoyed our last 5 years at Stomping Ground and look forward to remaining beer partners with them well into the future.”