After three years and a mandate to bring one of the world’s oldest agencies into the 21st century, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer Craig Davis is leaving the JWT next year to return to his native Australia. The news came by way of an internal email from JWT worldwide CEO Bob Jeffrey to its employees.
However, Davis will remain in the head office in London until 2009 to "ensure a smooth transition."
In his email, Jeffrey wrote: "Craig and the executive management team remain focused on the tasks at hand, delivering breakthrough work for our clients. For right now, we need to remain focused as ever on best-in-class ideas and executions."
Davis became worldwide CCO in January 2005, after leading JWT’s creative efforts across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Before JWT, Davis was a star creative at Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi in Singapore.
Jeffrey said Davis had been mulling over his exit since last year. "It wasn’t until very recently that Craig and [his wife] came to the conclusion that they wanted to return to Sydney to raise their children near their family, after being away from Sydney for more than 10 years."
Davis succeeded in raising creative profile of JWT, which became the fourth most-awarded network at the Cannes Lions this year. Jeffrey credited this to Davis’s internal initiatives, including the creation of a worldwide creative council and a global creative challenge. Davis was also instrumental in recruiting new creative leaders around the world and played a leading role in the agency’s successful pitch for global creative duties on HSBC in 2004.
"We have Craig to thank for four years of impressive new business growth, strong talent acquisition and a shift in overall creative reputation," Jeffrey said in the end.
"None of this would have been possible without his dedication, passion and leadership.
