Todd Sampson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Todd Sampson
Born Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
Residence Sydney, Australia
Nationality Canadian
Australian
Education B.A. (Queen's University)
M.B.A. (Cape Town University)
Occupation CEO of Leo Burnett
TV personality
Known for Gruen Planet
Redesign My Brain
Awards CEO of the Year

Todd Sampson is an Australian television personality and CEO of the advertising agency Leo Burnett Australia. He has also climbed to the summit of Mount Everest.

Early life and education

Sampson was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia. His mother worked as a checkout girl at KFC and his father on the factory floor of Coca-Cola[1]

Sampson left Cape Breton at age 16, completing his schooling at a United World College, to which he won a $C30,000 scholarship. He then studied economics and biology at Queens University in Ontario, working as a college counselor to supplement his income. He applied for another international scholarship and went on to complete an MBA at the University of Cape Town in 1995.

Career

Sampson started in advertising at the Cape Town agency The White House. In the mid-1990s, he worked as a strategist at Australian company The Campaign Palace. He joined Leo Burnett Sydney in 2002 and was appointed CEO in 2007.

Under his leadership Leo Burnett has won an Agency of the Year award twelve times and was ranked as the seventh-most creative agency in the world.

He is the co-creator of the Earth Hour initiative – one of the largest environmental movements in history, reaching more than 1.4 billion people in more than 5,500 cities.

Sampson is a regular panellist on the ABC Television media review programme Gruen Planet. He appeared on its predecessor The Gruen Transfer and on spin-off series 'Gruen Nation' and 'Gruen Sweat'.

As at October 2013, he was the subject of a ground-breaking science documentary series Redesign My Brain. This documentary won the 2013 AACTAs for Best Documentary of the Year. He appears as a panellist and guest host on Network Ten's The Project.

Sampson has been interviewed on CNN, Sunrise, Sky News and Q&A.

Personal life

Sampson is an adventurer, having completed an unguided ascent to the top of Mount Everest. He is a MMA (mixed martial arts) fan and has competed in judo and jiujitsu events and taught tae kwon do.

Awards

The Financial Review and News Limited ranked him as one of the most influential executives in Australia. He has won a CEO of the Year Award twice and has featured on the cover of BRW magazine. He was ranked as one of the most influential men under 45 by Men's Style and was nominated for GQ's Man of the Year Award.

An art piece by Michelle St Anne called I Love Todd Sampson – Voices of the Vulnerable was performed at Walsh Bay in February and March 2013.

References

  1. ↑ "Coke Adds Weight". Gruen Planet. Series 3. Episode 6. October 16, 2013. 8:20 minutes in. ABC1. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/gruen-planet/#episode/LE1240H006S00.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.