About me

Born in South Africa, raised in New York City

I was born in Durban, South Africa and grew up from the age of 15 in Manhattan, New York. I completed my high schooling at The Calhoun School on the Upper West Side, before studying English Literature and Psychology at NYU (New York University).

Early years in the UK as a copywriter

After university, I moved to the UK and started my career as a Copywriter at Grigsmore advertising in Ipswich. I then accepted a position as Head of Copy for a large design group in London, TPS Design, working mainly on Cable & Wireless. I then joined an advertising agency in London, WBN International, working as a Copywriter with an Art Director on Continental Airlines, Triumph Motorcycles, and Hewlett Packard.

Ogilvy & Mather and Leo Burnett, Johannesburg

I returned to South Africa and accepted a position as a Copywriter at advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather RSTM in Johannesburg. I worked in a creative team on Nedbank, Telkom, Sun City, Mnet Supersport, and World Vision. I then joined Sonnenberg Murphy Leo Burnett as a Copywriter where I worked on Honda and Adidas.

FCB Durban

A year later I accepted a position as a Senior Copywriter at FCB Lindsay Smithers Bond in Durban where I received many international awards for my creative work. Clients included Independent Newspapers, National Brands, Mondi Paper, Trellidor, Petronet and Three Cities Hotels. I later became a Creative Director and board director of FCB Durban and a shareholder of FCB South Africa.

Lowe Bull Truth (MullenLowe), Durban

Six years later I launched my own advertising agency, Truth, which later became known as Lowe Bull Truth when Lowe Bull Johannesburg (part of the MullenLowe group), acquired a substantial shareholding in the agency. In just over 12 months of opening, the agency had received a silver at Cannes Lions, and quickly became the most creatively awarded advertising agency in Durban. Clients included Wonderbra, East Coast Radio, Aquelle Water, Suncoast Casino, SA Home Loans and Unilever brands like Organics shampoo, Handy Andy, Rama, and OMO washing powder.

McCann, Nairobi

After just under 10 years at Lowe Bull Truth, I sold my shares before accepting a position as Creative Director of McCann in Nairobi, Kenya. I was tasked with stabilising their Nestle Africa business and improving the agency’s creative output. A year later, having achieved what I was brought in to do, I returned to South Africa where I freelanced for a year before moving back to the UK.

Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI), UK

My first major client in the UK was the Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI) where I worked as a freelance Creative Director and Senior Copywriter overseeing the design and production of a wide range of print and digital marketing collateral. I also freelanced as a Senior UX and SEO Copywriter for a range of clients and start-ups in London.

City & Guilds, UK

I then accepted a contract as a Senior Digital Copywriter/Content Designer as part of a large digital team for City and Guilds working on their Group website and two subsites. I worked with two digital project managers and reported to the Interim Head of Digital, a senior digital strategist who qualified at Columbia University in New York. All the copy and content editing had to strictly follow the latest ‘best practice’ digital copywriting techniques.

Marie Curie, UK

A year later I was brought in by Marie Curie as a Senior Digital Copywriter to set up an in-house email copywriting resource. Working closely with their email digital team and various senior stakeholders, I put together an email briefing system and wrote their emails for supporter journeys. This involved using the latest research into writing subject lines, email content layout, and applying feedback from digital analytics.

Company of Master Jewellers (CMJ) and Anthony Nolan blood cancer charity, UK

I was then contracted by CMJ to write their new website, Tone of Voice, and copy style guidelines. Six months later I was brought in by the in-house creative team at the Anthony Nolan blood cancer charity in London to assist with their new donor recruitment campaign. This included rewriting their TV ad, writing the supporting digital social media campaign and the landing page on their website for conversion.

National Grid, Corporate Affairs, UK

As a contractor, I then worked at National Grid as a Senior Content Designer and Editor, and, over a two year period, covered various senior digital and content roles including Group Web Content Design Lead.

National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO), UK and project work

I also do project work with my design team through my ’boutique’ digital agency, We Are One. We’ve worked on websites, reports and digital marketing campaigns for National Grid ESO. Other clients include the reports for Ministry of Defence and Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) and websites and digital brocures for Bupa and Xoserve.

To view my latest contracts and projects over the last few years, please visit my LinkedIn profile.