M&C Saatchi Sydney bolsters its strategy team with four new appointments Justin Stafford, Stephen Dodd, Nicky Bryson and Grace Wallace

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Snip20160526_1.jpgM&C Saatchi has further expanded the talent within its strategy team with four new talent appointments including Justin Stafford as strategy director, Stephen Dodd as integrated strategy director, Nicky Bryson as senior strategist and Grace Wallace as strategist.

Ross Berthinussen, head of strategy, M&C Saatchi, has brought together an impressive range of skillsets to the agency.

Says Berthinussen: “We’re super excited to have Justin Stafford, Stephen Dodd, Nicky Bryson and Grace Wallace join us. They’re the kind of creative entrepreneurs that future facing strategists need to be. We hunted far and wide to find them.”

Says Alex Roper, strategy lead, M&C Saatchi: “We thought it imperative to secure a genuine mix of skills, particularly for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. We have a true blend. Some a bit more digital, some are behavioural and some are more brand-oriented.”

Stafford joins as strategy director, bringing a wealth of expertise from his tenure at Havas as strategic lead on eBay, Paypal and the Air Force. Prior to this, he worked on Lexus at The White Agency with stints at Yield Digital in Toronto, managing Fosters Wine Estates (Wolf Bass, Fifth Leg & VB), The Alpha Group (Stock Exchange) and Scotiabank International.

Says Stafford: “I am really excited to be at M&C Saatchi. Not many agencies have an innovation lab that you can tap into prototype product ideas but also have world class creatives to work with.”

Dodd joins him as integrated strategy director, returning from M&C Saatchi/Lida London where he led strategy for telecommunications giant O2. He also led social and digital strategy for Sony Mobile for NW Europe and major Unilever and Mondelez brands for HeyHuman.

Bryson comes on board as senior strategist from Leo Burnett where she took out ‘Best in Strategy’ and ‘Rising Star’ agency awards. Bryson has led strategies for clients GIO, Caltex, Woolworths and WWF. At the same time, she managed the planning department’s research and insights arm, working across business development. Previous experience includes managing qualitative and quantitative projects for numerous clients, including IAG, Vodafone, Nestle and News Life Media at House of Brand and Review Partners.

Says Bryson: “M&C Saatchi is a truly future facing creative agency. Their progressive and ambitious approach to solving their clients’ businesses problems has created some of the most iconic work in Australia. Having the chance to work alongside some of the most talented individuals in the industry – its a humbling and exciting time to join.”

The final addition to the team is Grace Wallace as strategist. With a strong agency understanding from GPY&R, Wallace’s past work encompasses government projects Lifejackets, Motorbikes, Speeding and Fatigue, with a research role at GALKAL and freelancer at Jack Morton and Moon Communications (now IKON).

Says Wallace: “While the agency is amazing and doing great work, it was the people that really sealed the deal. I met some brilliant strategists in the team that were passionate about the role of strategy in the agency, genuinely committed to their brands and truly excited by people and culture – the heart of what we do. A team I could definitely get on board with.”

Says Roper: “Brilliantly, they’re all creative thinkers and nice people to boot. With this diverse group, it’s about hunting in a pack to crack a strategy to help solve the problems we get asked to think about.”

Says Justin Graham, chief strategy officer, M&C Saatchi Group: “We pride ourselves on attracting world-class people and having an unfair share of talent. We’re excited these four exceptional strategists are joining the M&C Saatchi team.”

M&C Saatchi Group is a confederation of 10 businesses with complementary disciplines and skillsets that focus on engaging consumers at each and every point they encounter a brand.