As Chief Creative Officer of BBH Singapore I'm part of the leadership team that drives our culture, innovation and business. I also sit on the Global BBH Board and the Publicis Groupe Creative Council for APAC&MEA. Glad we got that out of the way.

Six months after I took the role, the pandemic hit. And yet we achieved the agency’s most successful year in its entire history on all accounts: revenue/profit, creative success as well as culture (with new initiatives around mental health, inclusion, diversity, training). Campaign Magazine UK named us Global Creative Agency alongside Mother London and Adam & Eve. Since then we only got better.

We launched a new entertainment platform called Running Stories. We innovated on new platforms like TikTok by creating an interactive RomCom. And we launched a new gaming offering with Riot Games as our first client.
In January 2024, we launched the new Samsung Galaxy S24 globally, a new milestone on our journey to becoming THE BEST NO CAPS LIKE FOR REAL (Trademark, patent pending).  

"There are three ways to get things done. The right way, the wrong way and mine."

Creative Excellence is something I personally drive and for which I’ve been recognised with over 500 awards and certificates at every major award show including 11 Grand Prix and a Titanium Lion at Cannes. My work wasn’t just awarded by the industry, it has also won several audience awards at the Webbys, Best of Show at Film Festivals and the Youtube “Top 5 Films that restored our faith in humanity”.

But it's not about trophies, it garnered millions of organic views, was featured by industry and consumer press, was discussed at the United Nations as best practice in Social Media and keeps pushing boundaries which the Iranian Censorship Board can attest. At one point in time, 3 of the 5 most viewed Coca-Cola commercials on Youtube were written or directed by me. Apple’s Chief Evangelist Guy Kawasaki once tweeted “a product everyone must buy” about a fun thing I invented. I am passionate about driving the industry forward and keep getting invited as a judge. I am currently Chairman of the CCA Gong Awards in Singapore.

I believe that - regardless of who pays for the work - it’s the audience that’s the real client. We’re working in their service. My background in film, where I worked on German TV series, taught me this valuable lesson. (I still direct from time to time for which I’ve also been recognised)

I strive for an environment that’s free of ego and politics, allowing us all to focus on work that’s fun and rewarding.

"Sascha was chosen to be on the 40 under 40 list by Campaign Magazine. It’s like getting certified as 100% organic. Except that we’re not talking about food here. And it’s not really related at all."

My leadership style is anti-alpha and creates space for others to own and shine. Small impowered teams can move mountains. Big structured teams are mountains. To me, leadership is not about one person sitting at the top calling the shots. True leadership can and should sit anywhere and can come from any position. It’s all about exciting a group of people around you to go above and beyond, while loving what they do.

Creativity isn’t a department. It’s culture. And that culture needs to be nurtured. Playfulness, experimentation, taking risks are big contributors. I set up an innovation lab empowering younger teams to make and prototype.

We use difference to make a difference. I believe in and support diversity in all forms, breaking old structures to create space for people with a difference. That means hiring from less privileged backgrounds (by paying interns a living wage), working harder to fight gender imbalance (with mentorship programs to work on barriers for female leaders to rise up, training programs for up-skilling, and promotions from within the agency). And many other things that support an inclusive culture. The proof of success is in the numbers. 

What you will find on this little website is a glimpse of my career so far. I’ve structured it with the following labels (and in a way that makes the list looks like the mushroom cloud of a detonated bomb, because: impactful work. Get it?)

Brand building
Digital Experiences
Entertainment/Content
IP/Apps
Gaming
Stunts
Film
Design
Classics
Sound

I’ve lived many lives so far. Aside from my current job, I have worked in various capacities when I was younger. As newspaper delivery boy, Maths and English tutor, bank teller, barkeeper in the German military, assembly line worked at Mercedes Benz producing SLK engines, accounting assistant at Siemens, editorial journalist for satellite TV, show host on VIVA (the German MTV equivalent), red carpet photographer at film festivals, sound assistant, editor in chief of a students paper, cameraman, waiter, consulting brand manager for Snickers and website designer way back in the 90s.

But my first real job was on film sets. Every day I could feel the incredible energy of people coming together bringing something to life that - up until that moment - only existed in someone’s head. This energy and excitement has been with me ever since.

That’s what gets me out of bed every day.

Well to be honest, what gets me out of bed is usually one of my three kids who all mean the world to me.
 

To read my CV, buy the book "Cool infographics" and open it on page 198.
Are you a Millennial and don't like books?
Below you can find a CV version you're likely to be more comfortable with.
Memes!
It's a digital world now anyway, isn't it? #pointingouttheobvious