TBWA Appoints Chris Garbutt As Global Creative President

Garbutt will oversee creative across TBWA’s global accounts and will lead the New York office as Chief Creative Officer

TBWA Worldwide has announced the appointment of renowned creative director Chris Garbutt as its new Global Creative President. No stranger to the TBWA network, Garbutt started his career at TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris in South Africa before moving to TBWA\Paris to become its Executive Creative Director, where he produced some of the agency’s most celebrated work for Nissan, Absolut, PlayStation, Canderel and Pedigree.

Garbutt’s appointment continues the network’s push for senior creative talent. TBWA has in recent months hired Nils Andersson to oversee creative in Greater China and Gary McCreadie and Wesley Hawes in Sydney, while also elevating Stephen Butler to the role of Chief Creative Officer in Los Angeles in 2014.

“Our client partners want and deserve the very best minds on their business, and our people throughout the network want to be inspired everyday by creative leaders who are keen on making the unreal real. Chris is one such leader, and not having him wasn’t an option in my book – he is one of ours. The richness and volume of his work speaks for itself, and his leadership and thinking will ensure TBWA remains The Disruption Company,” said Troy Ruhanen, President, TBWA Wordwide.

As Global Creative President, Garbutt will oversee the creative direction for TBWA’s hallmark global clients including Nissan, McDonalds, Adidas, Pernod Ricard, and more, while also partnering with newly-appointed CEO Rob Schwartz to helm the network’s flagship New York office in the role of Chief Creative Officer. Garbutt will report to Ruhanen and to Worldwide Creative Director, John Hunt.

Garbutt, 43, will join TBWA from Ogilvy & Mather East in New York, where he has served as Chief Creative Officer. As CCO, his oversight and leadership spanned all agency disciplines and he is credited with award-winning campaigns for IBM and Coca-Cola. Prior to joining Ogilvy in New York, Garbutt was Chief Creative Officer of the network’s Paris office, where he helped to propel the agency to new creative heights producing global campaigns for Perrier, Louis Vuitton and Google.

In 2014, Advertising Age named Garbutt one of the most awarded Chief Creative Officers in the world. He has won nearly 100 Cannes Lions in his career, including three Grand Prix awards, as well as top honours in The One Show, D&AD, Webbys, Clios and Art Director’s Club awards.

A native of Cape Town, South Africa, Garbutt began his career in Johannesburg as a Creative Director at TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, where he spent four years working under the tutelage of then-CCO, John Hunt.