CHE Proximity has seized the opportunity to add Justin Ruben to its creative team as executive creative director. Ruben is returning from a six-year stint in New York at Droga5 and The&Partnership New York. He will lead CHEP creative in Sydney and add to CHEP’s senior creative leadership led by chief creative officer, Gavin McLeod, and deputy chief creative officer, Glen Dickson.

Ruben was executive creative director at The&Partnership February 2019-April 2019 and group creative director at Droga5 April 2015-April 2021. At Droga5 he led campaigns such as Bagelgate for Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Potato Pay for Ore-Ida, Retweets of Love for Diet Coke, The Ripple Donut for Chase, and Seize the Awkward for the Ad Council.

He has a large collection of awards and one of his projects is still on display at ACMI, Australian Centre for the Moving Image. Before he left to work in New York, Ruben worked at BMF as creative director and Publicis Mojo, overseeing well-known campaigns, including Tap King featuring Lionel Ritchie, Peters Drumstick and Stuff History for Nike.

Justin Hind, chief executive officer at CHEP, commented, “We’re extremely fortunate to have someone of Justin’s calibre and experience join to help lead CHEP creatively in Sydney. With Gavin McLeod starting as national CCO on July 1 and Glen Dickson as deputy CCO already leading the creative charge in Melbourne, CHEP now has a full complement of creative talent in place to realise the next era of CHEP.”

Dickson commented, “We’re very happy to be welcoming someone with Justin’s enormous talent and experience back to Australia, and to CHEP. Justin is a true world-class creative leader – his work speaks for itself. He shares our passion for creating the kind of different-shaped ideas brands need to thrive in the new economy. He’s going to make us better, in all of the best ways.”

Ruben added, “I’ve been incredibly envious of the work CHEP has been producing and their ability to use creativity to solve real-world business problems, so naturally, I can’t wait to get started.”