BACKGROUND
Ajab started his career at Saatchi & Saatchi London in 1987 when the agency was at its zenith, he was hired by the legendary ECD Paul Arden.
At the time he was one of the first British born Asians to break into the Advertising industry.
He soon became one of the youngest Creative Group Heads in the history of the company aged 23 and went on in his career to work on some of the world’s biggest brands, holding positions as Regional and Global Creative Director on Sony, British Airways, Delta Airlines, General Mills, T-Mobile, Visa, P&G, Coca Cola and at WPP Team Vodafone.
His global experience in both the Telecoms and Airline sectors in particular is second to none.
He’s a strategically minded creative, famous for spending as much time in the planning department as he does in the creative.
He’s a big believer in loading creative development 60/40 in favour of exploring the strategic brief before a marker hits the blank page.
This strategic approach has given him a great nose for new business - he is responsible for winning over £200 million worth of accounts across his career.
From a creative perspective he likes to lead from the front.
He loves nothing more than rolling up his sleeves and writing and art directing ideas each and every day, something his mentor Paul Arden ingrained in him.
The recent global Coca-Cola Andy Warhol ‘Masterpiece’ commercial is a case in point. You can view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGa1imApfdg
This has cemented his reputation as one of the most awarded creatives in the business with over 300 Awards at D&AD, Cannes, The Clios, Epica, Eurobest, Creative Circle, Campaign, LIA, Spikes and The One Show.
RECENT ROLES
In 2013 he made the bold move and accepted the role as Chief Creative Officer of the O&M Group Japan – a country he’s always loved.
In his own words, “to frighten myself”
He took on a $70 million financially struggling company that was written off as an ‘adaption outpost’ in the notoriously difficult Japan market.
The Group companies comprised of 300 staff across Advertising, Digital, PR, Health, Production, Media and Activation.
Within 18 months he was credited with turning the group around financially with bold creative work.
He started by repositioning the agency from one the was trying to mimic the Japanese giants to one that embraced its international DNA.
In detail key transformational steps were:
- Repositioning the company to the platform of ‘The Most Global of Local agencies and most Local of Global agencies’ This played on the diversity of the O&M offering which the giant local agencies could never truly offer.
- He instigated a complete office redesign breaking down silos and decorating spaces with cutting edge Japanese Art.
- Championed diversity creating one of the most progressive creative departments in the world with over 38% female creative talent.
- A big believer in ‘Investing in Human Capital’ he brought young blood into the agency by introducing Portfolio Nights as well as introducing the Miami Ad School Program. The Program went on to mentor over 100 international interns. His very hands-on training took O&M Group Japans reputation into the top three preferred destinations for Miami students in the world along with Droga5 and RGA NY.
- He set up The Table @ O&M - a giant 20-meter table set in the heart of the creative department. A state of the Art Media, Content and innovation Hub that quickly became a melting pot of internal and external talent.
- A new flat structure in the creative department, and implementation of his innovative ‘2:2:1’ working system not only made the agency creative centric but one that cut delivery time from months to a matter of days.
In short, he modernised the agency for a digitally enabled world where consumers are ‘always on’
The changes quickly led to an unprecedented run of new business wins like EA Games, Orix Car, Coca Cola, Kirin Beer, Viber, Lixil, Citizen Watches, IBM and DZNE Perform Media.
This new business streak changed the Japan operation into a top 20 performing offices in the O&M Network.
ON THE CREATIVE FRONT
- From unranked in 2013, the Japan office rose to 3rd place in the O&M Global Creative Network Rankings.
- The office leapt from unranked into Campaigns top 10 most awarded agencies in Asia.
- O&M Group became the most awarded International agency in Japan in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
- In 2016 the agency took 3rd place in Campaigns Creative Agency of the Year and Ajab took 2nd place as Creative of the Year.
- Never one to give up, Ajab doubled down in 2017 to take Campaigns Creative Agency of the Year and he was also named Japan Creative of the Year for 2017. A real giant slaying moment – a creative department of 60 beating the giant Japan creative departments of 900.
- In May 2018 the agency won 20 Pencil across two of the world’s top shows including the prized D&AD Yellow Pencils and One Show Golds making him one of the most awarded creatives in the world that year.
CURRENT ROLE
In 2019 Ajab took his unique creative methodology and co-found BLITZWORKS, an agency with a radical, dynamic, no-nonsense approach to strategic and creative development.
BLITZWORKS offers it’s clients the fastest, most transparent and productive creative process with it's CONNECT, COLLABORATE, CREATE working model.
WE CONNECT, a bespoke, diverse team of elite, proven creatives and strategists - the Blitz Squad.
WE COLLABORATE, plugging decision making clients directly into the heart of the creative process.
WE CREATE, high volume ideation, working at extraordinary speed delivering sales-driving solutions that put the brand and product at the centre of the creative drama.
www.blitzworks.net
WORK HISTORY
1987 – Saatchi & Saatchi London, Junior Art Director
1988 – Creative Group Head
1990 – Board Director
1994 – Global Creative Director British Airways
1997 – European Creative Director Delta Airlines
2002 – European Creative Director Sony
2004 – European Creative Director T-Mobile
2008 – EMEA Creative Director P&G Pampers
2011 – Global Creative Director WPP Team Vodafone
2013 – Chief Creative Officer O&M Group Japan
2018 – Chief Creative Officer O&M Group ASEAN & Coca Cola APAC
2019 - Founder & Global Chief Creative Officer BLITZWORKS
ACCOUNT EXPERIENCE
Lloyds, Toyota, Visa, NSPCC, Schweppes, British Airways, Delta Airlines, Samaritans, Proctor & Gamble Brands, The Commission For Racial Equality, Anchor Butter, Hewlett Packard, Goodmans, General Mills, Cereal Partners, Fuji, Norwich Union, Sony, 3i, Museum of London, Docklands Museum, Refugee Council, T-Mobile, Monster.com, COI, Carlsberg, Lexus, Sky Broadcasting, Flymo, Bisto Gravy, UK Electoral Commission, Channel 4 TV, Sony Ericsson, Dubai Development Council, P&G Pampers, Ernest & Young, Emmatrust.com, D&AD, Vodafone, Philips, IBM, Kirin Beer, Coca Cola, Orix Car, SC Johnson, WWF, Australian Beef, Lego, Condomania Japan, Moet Chandon, University of Tokyo, British School in Tokyo, Hills, Unilever – Dove, Ponds, British Chamber of Commerce Japan, Dyson, Nestle, Adot.com, Mizuho Bank, EA Games, Lixil Japan, GSK, American Express, Godiva, Tiffany, Burberry, Citizen watches, Canon, Vixen Optics, Guinness, KFC, Perform Media, DZNE, JAL -Japanese Airlines, Mondelez -Cadbury-Tang - Eden Cheese, Sony Music, Uber Eats, Diageo.
JURIES
4 x D&AD, 4 x New York Festivals, Baltic Festivals, LIA, 3 x Creative Circle, Adstars, Shots Awards, Spikes Asia, Citra Pariwara Indonesia Awards, A-List Hollywood Awards, Effies, AICP Awards, Campaign 40 over 40, The Detroit Show.
PUBLIC SERVICE - APPOINTMENTS
Governor Museum of London
Governor Docklands Museum
Governor British Chamber of Commerce Japan
Governor Tokyo American Club
British School in Tokyo
Commission For Racial Equality
EMMA TRUST
Refugees Japan
DIRECTORSHIPS & ASSOCIATIONS
Fellow Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)
D&AD
Asian Who’s Who Global
CHARITABLE WORKS
NSPCC, The Samaritans, The Refugee Council, RNIB, BRAC, Adot Foundation, EMMA TRUST, WWF, Refugees Japan, Mount Fuji Protection Club, Megamax Homeless Japan, British School in Tokyo, University Of Tokyo.