Creative Leadership Lessons with Indy Selvarajah, Chief Creative Officer at Ketchum

To kick off our new interview series with key creative leaders across the globe, we recently sat down with Indy Selvarajah.

Chief Creative Officer at Ketchum, and award-winning creative with 13 years’ experience across a multitude of industries, Indy shares his take on the skills that make Creative Comms professionals great, the challenges facing the creative industries today, and more.

Read the full interview below.

Given the dynamic nature of the communications industry, what essential qualities do you believe creative leaders need to effectively navigate challenges and drive success today? 

The most interesting leaders in this industry are those who have experienced ‘the outside world in’ – spent time and experienced other types of agencies or practices, ways of working, and processes that aren’t solely PR. It immediately gives you a much more rounded view and more strings to your bow.

This is particularly relevant for creative leaders, who are constantly trying to look outside of the status quo, break the more traditional approaches and strive for better, more effective, creative work.

You also need to still be able to do the work. The best senior creatives still get their ‘hands dirty’, they’re not detached from the actual creative work.

What changes are you seeing across the PR industry right now?

Change is happening across all creative industries, not just PR. Quicker turnarounds, more restricted budgets, and, often, more emphasis on creative speed and mass rather than actual targeted quality and effectiveness.

Most agencies will have to be able to pivot, but the key in creative industries is that, regardless of the constraints, the idea has to be king. And so, this is where brilliant, talented creatives who can conjure ideas that are truly culture first and resonate deeply become even more important – they’re worth their weight in gold.

What advice would you give to Creatives in this industry?

Work for a person.

Yes, you’ll be working in an agency, but don’t be seduced by the name on the front door, or work the agency did fifteen years ago. The most important thing is finding a person you will be working under, or with, that sparks you.

If you pick the right person, you will learn bucketloads, feel empowered to make mistakes along the way, super charge your career, and hopefully have a lot of fun too.

Can you talk to us about your move to PR from an advertising background?

I was actually a gallery artist originally, then wrote for TV, then moved into adland before PR. I’ve experienced a variety of different disciplines, so this move wasn’t really a big deal for me.

What I’ve always done is take the experiences, learnings and watch outs with me, it’s all transferable and can be applied.

How has the role of an ECD/CCO changed over the past few years?

I don’t think it has.

For me, I know the landscape has changed around me, but what I believe and stand by remains the same. Every CCO or ECD’s role is about instilling an authentic POV and philosophy, and then sticking to it.

ECDs/CCOs should always be the guardian of the philosophy that underpins the creative work at the agency – it’s your role to protect and drive the ideas (and the Creatives) when its needed.

So, what key attributes do you look for when interviewing for your team?

When the interview runs over by 30 mins and I could have easily spent another hour with them, I know they’re a keeper. I always look for individuals who have taken a different journey to everyone else and will be able to inspire everyone in the department and agency, even if they might not know it yet.

But you have to look in the cracks and the corners. Find those on the periphery, because nine times out of ten they will have something new to say or a different way of looking at the world. This is ultimately what a great creative does.

I also love a hustler. Someone who hasn’t necessarily had it all laid out for them. The diamonds in the rough.