Tribal Australia appoints Colin Jowel as first-ever chief strategy officer

Tribal Australia, part of DDB Group, has hired Colin Jowell as its first-ever chief strategy officer, further bolstering its strategic capabilities and credentials.

Jowell (right) was most recently at KPMG as part of the consultancy firm’s Customer, Brand and Marketing advisory. Jowell first joined KPMG in 2018 following its acquisition of UDKU, an innovation agency he co-founded alongside Mark Timmins and Kon Marinis in 2013. UDKU was one of the early pioneers of brand-led customer experience design, notably launching Airtasker in its first major campaign, and working with blue chip clients such as Medibank, AMP, Commonwealth Bank, The Star and David Jones on CX innovation projects.

Prior to UDKU, Jowell led the strategy department at M&C Saatchi for a number of years in South Africa, Malaysia and, most recently Australia.

Over the last 12 months, Tribal has grown its headcount by 67%, jumping from 27 to 45 full-time employees nationally under the leadership of managing director Davy Rennie (left). The agency has also landed new partners including Coles, Kmart and News Corp.

The agency has also turned its attention to rolling out a new global delivery model this year, known as Total Experience. Total Experience is made up of five expert practices that can stand apart or snap together, including: Customer Experience, Spark Innovation, Technical Engineering, Create, and Business Consultancy.

Says Jowell: “I’ve been a long time admirer of the DDB group – their work, their talented people and most importantly, their culture. Tribal has been behind some of the best recent examples of brands that not only deliver their promise through customer experience, but deliver exceptional commercial results for their clients. To join an agency as they are expanding their already impressive track record of growth, creativity and impact is incredibly exciting.”

Says Rennie: “Tribal has gone through enormous change over the last couple of years. We’re focussed on creativity, and we have some stellar work to show for it. Now, as we get closer to our partners and solve further upstream, we are adding serious credentials to our strategic offering. Colin brings a wealth of brand and experience knowledge, and will be the key to unlocking Total Experience in Australia and the Asia Pacific.”

Jowell started in the role this week.