Mandie van der Merwe
Mandie van der Merwe
Executive Creative Director
M&C Saatchi Sydney
Mandie is an Executive Creative Director at M&C Saatchi. Over the last 19 years, she has worked on 3 continents and has been recognised more than 200 times at major local and international award shows, including One Show, D&AD, Cannes, AWARD, The Loeries and various other local and international shows. Mandie is also currently the National Head of Award School - the leading advertising training body in Australia for young people trying to find a way into creative departments.

After graduating from art school in South Africa, Mandie, much to the chagrin of her purist art friends, sold her soul to advertising. But, over the span of her career, she’s bought it back. The payment has been made, painstakingly, with an unwavering ideal that we can change business and social problems with great ideas and the care, will and pride to execute them beautifully.

It is this belief that has guided her work on some of the world’s biggest brands, including Tourism Australia, Fox Sports, Nando’s, Tourism New Zealand, David Jones, MINI and Virgin Money.

Beyond the world of advertising, Mandie is a maker. She is an enthusiastic ceramicist and hopes, one day, to own a kiln and have the time to use it.