18 years ago in a small office in Maroochydore I wrote down this word.

It became one of Australia’s leading challenger brands.

In 2007, I relocated from South Africa to Australia with the founding team to help build a new insurance company from the ground up.

Working directly with the CEO, I was responsible for shaping the brand from day one.

There was no CMO structure.
No large agency retainers.
No revolving door of consultants.

Instead, we built the capability in-house.

I established and led a fully integrated internal studio covering strategy, creative, design and film production, embedded inside the business and accountable for commercial performance.

From 2007 to 2023, that model scaled with the company to more than a million customers and over 1.5 billion dollars in annual premium.

Consistency of thinking.
Speed of execution.
Capital efficiency.
No aesthetic drift.

The brand was refined, not reinvented.

Over those 17 years, attention shifted from broadcast to digital ecosystems and social platforms.

The platforms changed.
The need for clarity did not.

My work has spanned television, digital performance, long-form storytelling and platform-native social. The principle is constant. Build the idea properly, then adapt it to where attention lives.

Perspective

My career spans large multinational award-winning agencies, partnership in small independent agencies, national election campaigns and long-term internal brand leadership inside a scaling business.

I served as Deputy Creative Director for the African National Congress in the ground breaking first democratic election in South Africa, working directly with senior stakeholders. During that period, I designed Nelson Mandela’s personal letterhead.

What I Am Focused On Now

Building brands from the inside.

Working with founders who understand that brand is infrastructure.

Embedding strategy, creative and production capability inside the company and scaling it across evolving channels.

If you are building something serious, we should talk.