Sa’ad Hussein

Ranked #1 Most Awarded Creative in Singapore
Campaign Brief Asia’s Creative Ranking 2020

Sa’ad Hussein is a maverick. He started his career in Singapore as a creative hybrid in the age when everyone wanted to be just an art director or a copywriter. He left Singapore to explore Jakarta before settling in Malaysia in 1997 to be a partner of a boutique start-up. Within 10 years, TBWA global advertising network acquired the company and made him Managing Director and Chief Creative Officer. In 2016, promoted to Chairman, TBWA Group Malaysia.

With over 25 years of experience, Sa’ad has worked on major brands like Sony, Nissan, Infiniti, McDonald’s, Nando’s and Pizza Hut. But he is most passionate when it comes to building local, challenger and start-up brands. These include P1 (Packet One), RHB, Nippon Paint, DiGi, UMobile and most recently Tealive.

In the international awards front, he has won multiple metals in Cannes, D&AD, One Show, NY Fest, Clio, Spikes and AdFest.

Sa’ad has served as the Chairman of the 4As Creative Council in 2013 and 2014. He was also a judge in award shows like AdFest, MC2, Kancil Awards, Andy’s, Ad Stars, Red Apple and New York Festival. He was an invited speaker at several conventions such as ABC Media Workshop 2013, BrandFest 2012, iMedia Agency Summit 2014 and Unilever Brand Workshop 2017. Occasionally, he lectures and mentors in learning institutions like Multimedia University (MMU), One Academy, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, TAP Academy (IACT) and 95 Percent Advertising Academy.

Now, Sa’ad is focusing his time and energy on mentoring start-ups especially in the area of branding. Currently, he is the Chief Marketing Officer at PIXERF plus a consultant and mentor to a dozen pre-seed startups in Malaysia.