Sam Hawkey, Saatchi & Saatchi

Sam Hawkey was appointed CEO at Saatchi & Saatchi in July 2020. Within six months, against the backdrop of widespread upheaval to the industry, he steered Saatchi & Saatchi to its biggest wins of recent years, helped BT, EE and Direct Line to drive growth, spearheaded pioneering new initiatives on diversity and inclusion and engineered a cutting-edge creative technology platform that saved clients millions of pounds in production.

Sam led the agency to a phenomenal new business performance, topping Campaign’s New Business League and winning six new clients including Fiat Chrysler Automotive and BT’s Demand Generation business. He also deepened relationships with clients including BT, Deutsche Telekom, EE, Direct Line and Marie Curie.

Sam has created a culture at Saatchi’s that is squarely focused on innovation, launching a new platform that saved money for clients in a year when budgets were under more pressure than ever. He also dedicated himself to making his agency and the industry world more diverse and inclusive, spearheading transformational initiatives to encourage individuals from underrepresented communities to enter the industry.