M&C Saatchi appoints Claire Van Heyningen to head of digital + Chris James as group digital CD

M&C Saatchi has made a significant boost to its digital firepower with the appointment of Claire Van Heyningen to group head of digital and Chris James to group digital CD.

Van Heyningen and James will join M&C Saatchi digital strategy director Michael Sinclair to drive and shape contagious integrated solutions across the M&C Saatchi Group.

Van Heyningen has more than 17 years in an array of management and leadership roles with a strong focus on technology, business development and people.

Most recently she was digital client service director at One Green Bean following five years at Host where she rose to head of digital.

She has worked across a breadth of clients, including Toyota, Virgin Mobile, Coca-Cola, Bankwest and Tourism Western Australia, and was a key driver of projects that achieved brilliant results.

Projects such as Virgin Mobile’s recent ‘Meal For A Meal’ campaign, Toyota’s category-first foray into Instagram advertising, and the re-development of Tourism Western Australia’s global brand website.

With a digital career spanning over 20 years James is one of the most awarded digital creatives in the Australian market.

In recent years he has been ranked the number two digital CD globally at Cannes by the Won Report and the top-ranked digital CD in Australasia by Campaign Brief.

Since 2000 he has founded two creative businesses: Rhubarb & Custard and The Farm Digital; built two highly-awarded digital departments: at TEQUILA and BMF before heading up the digital offering at Ogilvy & Mather.

At M&C Saatchi James will be responsible for the digital creative output of the entire M&C Saatchi Group that comprises 10 businesses.

Sinclair, who joined M&C Saatchi from Droga5 in December, has been at the forefront of digital strategy for nearly a decade in Sydney, London and Auckland and has made a big impact for the agency’s key clients over the past six months.

Says Jaimes Leggett, M&C Saatchi CEO: “Claire, Chris and Michael are pioneers in the digital space with a brilliant track record of consistently producing the sorts of interactive solutions that people just can’t help but engage with.

“They’ve worked at some of the best agencies, on some of the best clients, producing some of the best work in the industry. They make a brilliant addition to our already formidable digital offering.”

Says Van Heyningen: “It is an amazing time to be joining M&C Saatchi, a business that is investing heavily to reshape itself with the future firmly in mind.

“The sheer scope of talent in the building is humbling. It’s certainly no coincidence they are doing truly ground-breaking work for some iconic clients.”

The hires follow M&C Saatchi’s recent recruitment of Andy DiLallo, ranked in the top five chief creative officers in the world, as CCO. Dilallo joins chief strategy officer Justin Graham and Leggett as the spearhead of the M&C Saatchi Group.

(Pictured L-R: Chris James, Claire Van Heyningen, Michael Sinclair)