Last week, DiLallo was the creative head of the agency that won most D&AD Pencils this year. This week, he’s getting ready to move from Hickson Road to Macquarie Street in Sydney, from Leos to M&C, and from one chief creative officer position to a new one.
M&C Saatchi went on a worldwide hunt before it found its first CCO around the corner at Leo Burnett in Sydney.
“I believe the only thing to fear is complacency. Change is something to embrace. The time has come for me to change direction, but not course. M&C Saatchi is one of the great Australian advertising brands, hugely respected among both clients and peers. I’m ready to help Jaimes and Justin lead M&C Saatchi as they continue to grow and shape Australia’s biggest brands.
“Our industry has never been more progressive and M&C Saatchi is perfectly positioned to help lead the way,” DiLallo commented.
DiLallo arrived in Australia 11 years ago and has been at Leo Burnett for the last eight. In January this year, Leo Burnett Sydney was the only Australian agency to rank in the top 20 of the 2015 Big Won Rankings and DiLallo was ranked the fifth Top Chief Creative Officer in the world. In March, Leo Burnett was named AdNews Agency of the Year, Ad Network of the Year and NSW Agency of the Year. DiLallo has been the creative at the helm while Leos won Agency of the Year seventeen times in the last five years on a local, regional and global level.
He has been the creative at the top of than 1,000 local and international awards, including:
- 51 Cannes Lions
- 6 International Grand Prix
- 20 One Show Pencils
- 100+ AWARD Pencils
He has been accepted into the CLIO Hall of Fame.
His work on WWF Earth Hour, resulted in the largest mass-participation event in history, recognised by UN.
“Andy is world class. His creative record speaks for itself. With the talent we have in the agency and the clients on our roster, I have no doubt that Andy will take the work to another level,” Leggett noted.
Tom McFarlane remains M&C Saatchi regional creative director, with his focus on key business within the agency’s global network, following its growth spurt last year.
Ben Welsh remains executive creative director across the expanded M&C Saatchi Group in Sydney and Paul Taylor continues to be executive creative director of the growing Melbourne office.
“After searching locally and internationally for over 12 months, Andy remained our target. His creative credentials, leadership experience and global perspective made him the perfect candidate for the job. With CEO, Jaimes Leggett, now well and truly settled in and doing a remarkable job, along with chief strategy officer, Justin Graham, now is the perfect time to step up a gear creatively,” McFarlane commented.
“Together Andy, Jaimes and Justin will be a powerful partnership, and nobody knows better than me the value of a strong agency partnership – having been privileged to work side-by-side with Tom Dery for over 20 years building M&C Saatchi into one of the most successful agencies in Australia.”
