Ribeiro is new MD of Ogilvy Johannesburg

13 Jun 2006

Julian Ribeiro is taking over the reins from outgoing MD of Ogilvy Johannesburg, Nandi Scorer, who recently announced her resignation to settle in Cape Town. Ribeiro's role is to build on the recent success of the agency, which in 2005 boasted an 82% success rate in the pitch process, and an 88% improvement in creative output over the previous year.

Ribeiro is new MD of Ogilvy Johannesburg

"I am honoured to have been offered the opportunity to play such an integral role in what is, in my mind, one of South Africa's most legendary agencies," says Ribeiro, who returned home from London in January this year, where he was worldwide account director on PlayStation. After a short, but successful, tenure as MD of Lowe Bull Johannesburg, he joined the Ogilvy Group on 1 June 2006.

No stranger

No stranger to the South African advertising industry, Ribeiro spent most of this career at TBWA Hunt Lascaris, where he progressed from account manager to account director and then client service director, managing accounts including Standard Bank, Nando's, BMW, The United Cricket Board of South Africa and Seychelles Tourism. From 2000, he led the Tiger Brands business, and in March 2003 was appointed group idea director and head of account management.

He was also instrumental in developing and launching the School of Magic Programme across the Tiger Brands business. Tiger Brands became the most awarded account in South Africa for creativity and effectiveness, and the successful programme was adapted for use with other clients in the agency and was later introduced to the rest of the TBWA network on a worldwide basis.

Ribeiro was appointed worldwide account director on PlayStation in October 2004. "This was a learning curve of note. In addition to launching PSP, we created three new brand campaigns and launched over 40 software titles for PlayStation 2 in more than 30 markets. I learned so much in London, and it was a brilliant adventure for me and my family, but I want to be part of this country, this industry, at this time in its history, and I want to share what I learned," he says.

Wants to listen and understand

Speaking specifically about his new role at Ogilvy Johannesburg, Ribeiro comments that first he wants to listen and understand. He has enormous respect for Ogilvy and its clients.

"Ogilvy must help to define the industry by the work we produce with our client partners. Our challenge is to create powerful ideas for the brands that are entrusted to us. Ideas that resonate with consumers and that the brand can own, whatever the communication channel.

"Mostly what I would like to bring to the agency is my passion for the work. I believe in ideas, and great partnerships that create great work. There is nothing quite as rewarding as seeing a great piece of work, that both the agency and client are completely passionate about, in action. One can almost sense it in the work, and it's obvious in the results."

Shared passion

He adds that, importantly for him, this passion is something that is clearly shared by Ogilvy South Africa group CEO Nunu Ntshingila and executive creative director Gerry Human.

"I want to build a strong partnership with Human, and I'm confident that, as a team, our passion will shine through in everything that we do," he says.

Ntshingila says Ribeiro's appointment is a fantastic move for Ogilvy Johannesburg. "We are thrilled to have him on the team and believe his contribution to the company will be invaluable," she comments.