Ben Lilley is the Creative Chairman at McCann. Ben started out as a creative with some of Australia's leading agencies, including George Patterson Y&R, McCann and DDB, before launching SMART in 2000. SMART was recognised in numerous local and global creative, effectiveness and agency of the year awards, as well as the BRW Fast100 and B&T Employer of the Year awards.

Ben became Chairman and CEO of McCann Australia after they bought SMART in 2011. Over the following 7 years, McCann Australia achieved record growth and results and was named Agency of the Year at D&AD, London International, Spikes Asia, Campaign Asia, Campaign Brief, Mumbrella and AWARD. In 2013, McCann Australia made history as the world's most awarded agency for campaigns including the globally acclaimed "Dumb Ways to Die".

In this episode, we discuss:

•The office of the future as a creative meeting and collaboration space

•The genuinely integrated agency of the future with overarching holding company and underlying technology platform

•The importance of creativity in achieving commercial success

•The globally acclaimed "Dumb Ways to Die" rail safety campaign for Melbourne Metro

Three Quick Questions:

•A business book you recommend? - Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson

•Person to follow on social media or digital media? - take a break and enjoy time with family

•One on one dinner with a living person? - Arnold Schwarzenegger

To see more award-winning work from McCann over the last decade, visit https://mccann.com.au/.

To find out more about the integrated HERO agency model, visit https://thehero.co/.