The New York Festivals Health Awards has honoured June Laffey, executive creative coach, retreat founder, and former chief creative office for McCann Health New York with the New York Festivals Health Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. The New York Festivals Lifetime Achievement Award recognises prominent industry leaders, innovators, and driving forces in the industry whose accomplishments have advanced their field and made a lasting impression on the industry.
Laffey has built a stellar creative and leadership career within healthcare advertising across two decades, from APAC to the Americas. She served a decade at McCann Health, from 2010, starting in Australia as a creative and culminating as chief creative officer of the flagship New York office. While in her leadership role, she led a culture of creativity to elevate the network to world’s number one.
Respected within the industry among top-tier award competitions, Laffey was one of first women to chair Cannes Lions Health and was tapped multiple times to chair Clio Health and the NYF’s Global Awards.
“June Laffey truly deserves this honour, as an award-winning creative and a respected leader within the industry, she is known for being a unique trailblazer, changemaker, and visionary,” stated Ellen Smyth, chief executive officer, New York Festivals.
“What a wonderful life where you can do what you love, be creative, have fun, inspire and be inspired by amazing people the world over, first in agencies then through coaching creative leaders. Then to be recognised by the brilliant New York Festivals for doing just that with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award in health …life doesn’t get any better,” Laffey commented.
Laffey has championed world class campaigns, such as Unfinished Votes, chaired prestigious international health award shows and helped build creative reputations, careers and business. She is one of the world’s most respected leaders in the field of healthcare advertising.
In Australia, June co-founded and presided over Bravo!, a committee of Australian healthcare professionals with representation from healthcare agencies and the Communications Council of Australia, for the APAC region. Global Awards and Bravo! celebrated NYF’s Global Award winners in APAC. The event that was so successful, it was quickly replicated in the United States resulting in concurrent New York Festivals Global Awards celebrations annually honouring winners in both Australia and the US.
Laffey was also McCann Worldgroup’s most awarded female creative, earning numerous accolades for her top-tier creative work for prominent brands from prestigious international advertising competitions. In 2020, she was recognised by the One Show as one of the top twenty-five chief creative officers worldwide.
After an industry-leading career, Laffey has turned her creative talents to empowering creative leaders to be their best. Her executive creative coaching business, FUN (For U Now), guides individuals via a blueprint for success which supports, upskills, and empowers people to be better leaders. June’s philosophy is Receive, Believe, Achieve. She works with individuals and agencies, both remotely or in-person, to offer intensive individual and group coaching and has launched a workshop and accommodation space a world away from the hustle and bustle located on beautiful land at Topi, three hours north of Sydney.
David Sable, host of NYF’s flagship content series, Creativity From The Other Side, shares a lively conversation about leadership, how to “be all you can be,” her multi-decade career in advertising, tech and creative in healthcare, and more.
