Born in Zimbabwe, Stu has since lived and worked in 7 countries and travelled to a further 60. As an advertising professional, he was a creative director for agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather, Saatchi & Saatchi, Bates, etc, before setting up his own $20m agency in Singapore, which he built up and sold to US-listed group FCB.
He has published 7 books (including 3 on best-seller lists in 3 countries), and was one of the most widely published travel writers in Asia Pacific, with features in National Geographic Travel, Travel + Leisure and major dailies.
The Daily Telegraph (UK) once described him as “the perfect storyteller”.
Little known fact: he was once contracted to Warner Music as a songwriter.
He has addressed a UN conference on tourism innovation, and MC’d a TEDx event on Creativity & Collaboration.
Teaching/training experience includes:
- Founding lecturer, Institute of Advertising, Singapore.
- Guest lecturer, University of Washington.
Consulting/coaching on innovation and creativity since 1999.
As Chief Hothead at Hotheads Innovation, Stu helps Fortune 500 companies turbo-charge their creativity and innovation thinking skills. Clients include Citibank, SHELL, Accor, Adidas, Pfizer, SIEMENS, Johnson & Johnson, etc.
Stu has 30 years of experience at the intersection of creativity and commerce, which means his workshops and facilitations are a deep-learning experiential event for all to learn from and be inspired someone who has actually lived and breathed this subject.
He has a passionate interest in innovations in the healthcare space.