A Psychology and Economics major, Ben began his advertising career in the creative departments of some of Australia’s most respected ad agencies, including George Patterson, DDB and McCann Erickson. He won local and international awards for his work, creating integrated campaigns for a diverse range of clients: from BMW, Carlton & United Breweries and Myer to Diners Club, National Australia Bank and Telstra.

In 2000 Ben launched independent agency SMART, as a strategic and creative alternative to traditional agency models. Over the next decade, SMART grew to become Australia’s largest independent trans-Tasman agency, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland and Auckland and clients including adidas, Brown Brothers, Coca Cola, Ferrero, Levi’s, News Ltd, McDonald’s, SEEK, Specsavers and Unilever.

SMART was recognised in the AdNews and B&T Agency of the Year awards, Effies, Clios, New York Festivals, Cannes and numerous other global and local award shows. And as a B&T Agency Employer of the Year and a BRW Fast100 company.

In 2011, SMART merged with McCann Worldgroup and Ben was appointed CEO across Australia and New Zealand, with a remit to evolve McCann into an agency with the DNA of a creative independent but the backing of the world’s largest agency network.