Kevin Roberts

Kevin Roberts is the New York-based CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi – one of the world’s leading creative organizations with over 6000 people and 130 offices in 70 countries. Saatchi & Saatchi works with over half of the top 50 global advertisers. In 2004 he wrote Lovemarks: the Future Beyond Brands, a ground-breaking business book published in 18 languages, showing how emotion can inspire businesses and brands to deliver sustainable value. Lovemarks was named one of the ten Ideas of the Decade by Advertising Age.

Born and educated in Lancaster England, Kevin Roberts started his career in the late 1960s with London fashion house Mary Quant. He became a senior marketing executive for Gillette and Procter & Gamble in Europe and the Middle East, CEO of Pepsi-Cola Middle East and Pepsi-Cola in Canada, and Chief Operating Officer with Lion Nathan in New Zealand. He took up his position as CEO Worldwide with Saatchi & Saatchi in 1997. In 2013 Kevin was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for services to business and the community. He is Honorary Professor of Innovation and Creativity at the University of Auckland Business School and Honorary Professor of Creative Leadership at Lancaster University. Kevin is a former director of the New Zealand Rugby Union, the current Chairman of the Board of USA Rugby, co-founder of the International Rugby Academy – the leading international training program for coaches and players, and a loyal lifetime fan of Manchester City Football Club.