Hello, I’m Sanjiv.

In my early twenties, I went to ad school by day and law school by night.

After years of study, armed with a law degree but a love for great ideas, I immediately gave up legal briefs for creative ones.

At The Jupiter Drawing Room - a founder-led independent - I learned about building an infectious agency culture, while at Ogilvy I was trained in the nuances of running and shaping global brands like Volkswagen, Kraft Heinz and Coca-Cola. After being named the top creative in South Africa, I moved to London to make the kind of non-traditional and insight-centric work I adored.

At McCann, along with some wonderful partners I led the transformation of its dedicated Microsoft/Xbox agency from a localisation shop into the network’s creative powerhouse, largely through fostering a culture where standout creative ideas, and the people who make them, were put first. We created two of the Ads of the Decade (LBB), and won 45 Cannes Lions and numerous effectiveness awards in the space of five consecutive years. That consistent track record and client relationship building was recognised with a rare foursome of special awards: the One Show Penta Pencil, the D&AD Collaborative Pencil, Cannes Marketer of the Year, and Campaign’s Consistent Creative Excellence Award.

Under the guidance of the likes of Rob Reilly and John Mescall, my last decade has been defined not just by creative and business growth, but personal growth too. And as a member of the European Creative Leadership Council, I’ve worked across offices to nurture great ideas and instil a creative excellence culture in parts of the region that hadn’t focused on them before.

In a career that has spanned the developing and developed worlds, dozens of local and global brands and, like all creatives, hundreds of things that never saw the light of day, thankfully many lovely things did. 

When Volkswagen wanted to talk about their eco-conscious technology, I convinced them to take action in the world instead. And from “Survival Billboard” to “The Fanchise Model”, my projects on Xbox have sought to reimagine the depth, scope and scale of what gaming can achieve in the modern world.

I’ve had the fortune of being ranked by industry bodies like Cannes and The One Club as among the top creative leaders globally, and I’m a frequent juror, speaker and panellist. My work has been recognised with over 75 Cannes Lions and more than 600 local and international awards, including several Grands Prix and a rare D&AD black pencil, and some of it found its way into the permanent archives of New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Away from advertising, my creative outlet is food writing. I was honoured to have been awarded the Sunday Times AA Gill Prize for food writers.

My mother (a lawyer) continues to hold out hope that I will put my degree to some use and get a proper job.