Sydney independent, The Core Agency, has appointed Simon Rich as its strategy director following a series of new business wins and existing client growth. Rich (pictured with managing director Jane Callister) is a highly experienced strategy director having worked in Australia and internationally across FMCG, financial, automotive and retail sectors.

He joins The Core Agency after five years in the UK where he worked at agencies included M&C Saatchi, VCCP, JWT, Cheil Worldwide and Publicis. Before leaving his home town of Melbourne, he was director of planning at Grey Group and head of planning at FCB. He has worked on some of the world’s most well-known brands including NatWest, HSBC, nab, AXA, Dixons Retail, Mars Inc, Kraft, Simplot, Samsung, O2 and Honda.

Rich, who had been working at The Core Agency on a freelance basis, will also join the leadership team of creative partners Jon Skinner and Christian Finucane and recently promoted managing director Jane Callister.

Christian Finucane said: “Since the start of the year we’ve had considerable new and organic business growth and the time is right for us to bring on a permanent strategy director as we continue to push forward. Simon has a wealth of experience working on leading brands while at agencies in both Australia and the UK and he is a valuable addition to the agency, our clients and the leadership team.”

Rich added: “The guys at The Core Agency are passionate, talented and have a wealth of experience. They intuitively get strategy and they are down to earth, which makes the agency a very exciting and collaborative place to work. It’s great to be teaming up with Jane again; we achieved a lot working together on financials and FMCG whilst at Grey and I am loving the challenge of helping The Core Agency’s clients go from strength to strength.”

Jane Callister said: “Having worked with Simon while he was at Grey I am delighted that he has joined The Core Agency. We had a strong partnership working on brands including AXA, Simplot, OceanSpray and TAC and I know his strategic insights will prove invaluable to our clients.”

Since the start of the year The Core Agency has won work for the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation and The Fred Hollows Foundation, as well as growth from existing clients QBE Insurance, Sydney Airport Parking and RSVP.