JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA // Fran Luckin is Chief Creative Officer of Grey Africa in Johannesburg. As part of the executive team, she has helped to transform the creative output of the agency from traditional advertising into a fully integrated multi-media, digital and social communications offering.

After 20 years in traditional advertising, featuring tours of duty at TBWA Hunt/Lascaris, and ten years at Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg, during which she served as Executive Creative Director, Fran joined digital agency Quirk (now Mirum Africa) as CCO. She produced digital campaigns for MacDonald’s, The Nelson Mandela Foundation and Reckitt Benckiser, among others. 

Fran was named as one of the top ten most influential people in South African advertising in The Annual – South Africa’s most authoritative compendium of the advertising, media, marketing and branding industry -and she has judged at every major marquee award festival, most of which she’s been awarded at herself. She’s served on the Cannes Lions Film Jury, The Cannes Lions Outdoor Jury, and has judged the Clio Awards, the One Show and D&AD. She has also sat several times on the judging panel for the Apex Awards – South Africa’s version of the Effie Awards.  This year she will serve as Jury President of the Print and Publishing Jury at the Cannes Festival of Creativity.

She has an M.B.A from the Berlin School of Creative Leadership. Her thesis looked at the role of awards shows (particularly the Cannes Lions) in driving creative innovation.

She is a frequent speaker at industry events, serves on the Executive Committee of South Africa’s Creative Circle, and is Chairman of the Academic Board of the Red & Yellow School of Advertising.