Wieden+Kennedy Sydney appoints Chris Wilson + Roy Leibowitz as group creative directors; Jack Elliott + Lochie Newham join as senior creatives

Following McDonald’s decision to add Wieden+Kennedy to its Australian creative roster last month, the agency has announced its first creative appointments bringing in Chris Wilson and Roy Leibowitz as group creative directors on McDonald’s, alongside Jack Elliott and Lochie Newham who join as senior creatives.

Wilson and Leibowitz join from Big City Business, the independent creative studio they launched last year. Prior to that, they served as creative directors at Clemenger BBDO Sydney and held senior creative roles at BMF, M&C Saatchi, Innocean, and Marcel, working on brands such as TAB, Hyundai, Kia, and Tiger Beer.

Australian creative duo Elliott and Newham arrive from Anomaly London, where they spent nearly two years as senior creatives. Prior to Anomaly, the pair worked at Wunderman Thompson.

Elliott and Newham have been creative partners for over a decade, producing award-winning work across a diverse range of brands, including The United Nations, Expedia, MINI, Penfolds, and Jetstar. Their portfolio spans industries such as FMCG, automotive, tech, and government, earning recognition at Cannes Lions, D&AD, The Effies, and beyond. Passionate about mentorship, they’ve also been named AWARD School Tutors of the Year. Outside of advertising, they channel their creativity into purpose-driven projects—most recently, a bush-botanical gin that raised over $30,000 for endangered koalas.

These appointments mark Wieden+Kennedy Sydney’s first creative hires for the McDonald’s account.

Says Eric Helin, global executive creative director at Wieden+Kennedy, who leads McDonald’s: “From the start it’s been important to us that we build this team with creative talent from the Wieden network, along with talented folks from Australia. This crew immediately understood our fan to fan approach and the importance of having McDonald’s show up in culture, versus just making ads. Roy, Chris, Jack and Lochie all have an incredibly high level of craft, are great people, and we couldn’t be more excited to have them here.”

Top row L-R: Roy Leibowitz, Chris Wilson
Bottom row L-R: Jack Elliott, Lochie Newham