R/GA has launched its new government practice led by Tish Karunarathna (pictured above), who will oversee a new client, the Australian Government. The agency will build a large-scale team that uses R/GA’s core practices and services the client in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne.
The partnership adds to R/GA’s Australian client portfolio, which includes Toyota, Nike, Google, Victorian State Government and TPG Telecom.
R/GA’s new practice will help government create a more human future by bridging the gap between public policy and citizen engagement across brand, communications, experience, data and technology.
Michael Titshall, senior vice president, Australia at R/GA, explained, “More than ever before governments need to adapt to changing societal expectations at speed. Tish has a track record of leading ground-breaking work and a deep understanding of Australia’s public sector.”
Karunarathna’s previous experience includes spearheading government strategy at Deloitte, Merkle and Isobar. He has worked with Department of Defence, Services Australia, Australian Institute of Sport, Macquarie Group, Qantas and University of Western Sydney, while winning global awards including Clios, Good Design, and both Adobe and Sitecore Experience Awards.
Titshall added, “Tish has led award-winning brand, customer and technology transformation programs across government, enterprise, and start-up sectors. Most recently, he was a Director at Deloitte, where he led the integration of its digital capability across consulting practices and technology alliances to better serve the needs of its Federal Government clients.”
Karunarathna stated, “It is essential that Government sees creativity as a transformational tool to orchestrate human experiences. Over the last eight-months I’ve been excited to see a genuine appetite for new thinking, new ideas and new approaches to solve public policy challenges. R/GA is an agency in a category of its own: combining the strategic thinking of a consultancy, the brand and communications of a creative agency, and the product design and engineering of a tech unicorn.”
