Agency Scope reveals the most admired agency professionals

Fieldwork done by The Agency Scope 2023 – 2024 has found that Joe Public, Ogilvy, TBWA and M&C Saatchi Abel have the most admired creative agency professionals.

Seven are chief creative officers; only two of the top 10 are women.

Those who were named are:

1. Pepe Marais, Joe Public United

2. Xolisa Dyeshana, Joe Public United

3. Sibusiso Sithole, The Odd Number

4. Pete Case, Ogilvy

5. Luca Gallarelli, TBWA/SA

6. Fran Luckin, Grey

7. Neo Mashigo, M&C Saatchi Abel

8. Mike Abel, M&C Saatchi Abel

9. Camilla Clerke, Ogilvy

10. Carl Willoughby, TBWA/Hunt Lascaris

The Agency Scope 2023 - 2024 questionnaire asked marketers which creative agency professionals they think stand out. No prompts were provided. Johanna McDowell, Scopen partner and CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS), says the ranking is a “a judgment by a jury of peers”.

The 10 most admired media agency professionals are:

1. Merissa Himraj, Wavemaker

2. Chris Botha, The Media Shop

3. Celia Collins, Publicis Media

4. Kate Carlisle-Kitz, Mindshare

5. Gareth Grant, Meta Media

6. Adrian Naidoo, Mindshare

6. Kevin Ndinguri, UM

8. Graham Deneys, Carat, Lerina Berman, Dentsu and Lynette Naidoo, Publicis Media

As in the case of the most admired creative agency professional ranking, no prompts were provided in this category. McDowell notes that in it there is a wider spread across agencies than in the most admired creative agency professional’s category.

César Vacchiano, president & CEO of Scopen, says that because marketing decisionmakers were merely asked to name their choice of media agency professionals, the responses are a “reflection of the work media personnel do rather than their popularity in the industry”.