Re, the brand-led experience design arm of M+C Saatchi Group, has appointed industry leader and Gruen regular Kiranpreet Kaur Dhillon as Group Strategy Director. She will guide strategy across major clients including Commonwealth Bank and Woolworths, bolstering the company’s capabilities as demand for strategically informed, AI-era experience design continues to rise.
In a move that underscores the evolving demands of brand experience in an AI-transformed world, Re, the brand-led experience design business within the M+C Saatchi Group, has appointed Kiranpreet Kaur Dhillon as its new Group Strategy Director. Announced in Sydney on November 20, 2025, the appointment marks a significant step in strengthening the organisation’s strategic capabilities at a time when clients are seeking deeper, more integrated design solutions that bridge brand, experience and technology.
Kiranpreet Kaur Dhillon, an influential industry voice and a regular on the ABC’s advertising panel show Gruen, steps into the role with more than 15 years of experience shaping strategic direction for some of the region’s most recognised brands. Known for her ability to straddle the worlds of creativity, digital transformation and business strategy, she joins Re after a distinguished tenure at AKQA, where she earned a reputation as both a strategic thinker and an award-winning agency leader. Her move signals not only a leadership transition within Re but a strengthening of the agency’s broader proposition as the industry continues to grapple with how organisations should evolve in an AI-led landscape.
Re operates at the intersection of brand, experience and design, an increasingly vital space as companies navigate shifting consumer expectations, rapid technological change and new competitive pressures. Its recent work with leading clients such as Commonwealth Bank, Woolworths and Youi reflects a growing demand for strategy-led experience design—projects that connect customer insight, creative identity and digital interfaces to build unified, human-centred systems. Kiran’s appointment builds on this momentum while aligning with the group’s wider strategic uplift, including the recent announcement of Simon Wassef as incoming Group Chief Strategy Officer for M+C Saatchi.
For Ben Harrison, Re’s Managing Director, Kiran brings a rare combination of skills and sensibilities to the table. Describing her as “a unicorn,” he emphasised that her ability to bridge brand, experience and digital transformation positions her uniquely to guide clients through complex challenges. Those challenges include not only evolving consumer behaviour but the growing expectations placed on brands to demonstrate inclusivity, purpose, adaptability and authenticity—all at scale and with measurable impact. Harrison also highlighted her role as a champion of diversity, noting that her leadership aligns closely with Re’s mission to “make progress by design,” a philosophy centred on inclusive innovation and meaningful human connection.
Re’s client list, which includes major organisations from finance to retail to insurance, requires a strategic leader capable of crafting solutions that resonate with diverse audiences and stakeholder groups. Alongside established partnerships with Commonwealth Bank, Woolworths and Youi, Kiran will oversee strategy work for newer additions such as BaptistCare, Alternaleaf and Downer Group. These clients reflect the broad spectrum of sectors that now rely on experience-led design to solve business problems—whether it is building trust, improving service pathways, defining new digital ecosystems or evolving brand architectures in line with changing cultural landscapes.
For her part, Kiran brings both enthusiasm and clarity to her new role. In stepping into Re, she described the agency as operating at a “beautiful convergence” of brand and experience, a space that she considers not only intellectually stimulating but strategically vital. The relationship between brand and experience has grown especially significant in recent years as organisations realise that perception and interaction can no longer be separated. A brand is not what a company says but what it does—and how people feel when they encounter it, whether through a digital platform, a retail environment, an employee interaction or an AI-driven interface. The experience is the brand, and strategic coherence is now essential for relevance and growth.
Kiran’s excitement is also rooted in the challenges facing brands today. As digital ecosystems expand and become more automated, it is becoming more difficult for organisations to connect meaningfully with customers. Personalisation, automation and AI-powered systems offer new efficiency and scale, but they also risk making brand interactions feel homogenised or transactional. Kiran’s belief in the potential of brand-experience convergence suggests that she sees Re’s role as one of navigating these tensions—using creativity, design and strategic insight to unlock new forms of emotional engagement, trust-building and distinctiveness. Her goal, she says, is to help clients “unlock new growth opportunities” while further defining Re’s position in the market as a leader in strategically informed experience design.
Her credentials extend well beyond her recent work. Over the course of her career, Kiran has worked across the APAC region with major brands such as Citibank, Mastercard, Bupa and Cancer Council. This regional breadth gives her a nuanced understanding of how diverse markets behave and how brands must adapt to cultural and behavioural differences while preserving their core identity. It also reinforces her expertise in orchestrating strategic programs for clients operating in highly regulated, emotionally sensitive or trust-dependent sectors—areas where experience design plays a crucial role in shaping both perception and outcomes.
Her industry profile has grown steadily through her regular appearances on Gruen, where she is known for clear, insightful commentary on advertising, culture and consumer behaviour. This visibility has made her a respected voice within the industry, capable of articulating complex ideas in accessible ways and engaging with broader conversations about the role of creativity, ethics and strategy. That public-facing perspective is likely to enrich her role at Re, adding another layer to the group’s strategic dialogue with clients and within the industry at large.
For M+C Saatchi Group, Kiran’s arrival reinforces the company’s ongoing commitment to strengthening its strategy capabilities across its interconnected businesses. With Simon Wassef stepping into the Group Chief Strategy Officer role, the organisation is clearly investing in leaders who can navigate the increasing complexity of modern brand-building while connecting strategy more tightly with design, creativity and technology. The AI era, which is reshaping everything from customer service to content production to experience mapping, demands leaders who can think systemically and act boldly. Kiran is positioned as one of those leaders.
Her appointment also highlights the broader shift underway in the industry. As brands recognise the need for deeper integration between strategy and experience, agencies are redefining their structures to reflect new client needs. No longer is strategy a standalone discipline or a preliminary phase in the creative process. Instead, it is an ongoing, adaptive force that informs everything from brand positioning to user journeys to organisational culture. Kiran’s role as Group Strategy Director places her at the centre of this transformation, shaping not only client work but the future direction of Re’s practice.
As the industry continues to evolve, Re’s decision to strengthen its strategic leadership through an executive with Kiran’s track record reflects confidence in the importance of experience design as a driver of business growth. Her blend of strategic rigor, creative curiosity and regional expertise positions her to influence both the agency’s internal culture and the work it delivers in the months and years ahead.
With this appointment, Re is not simply filling a leadership role. It is signalling a commitment to pushing the boundaries of brand-led experience design at a moment when organisations need guidance more than ever. And with Kiranpreet Kaur Dhillon at the helm of its strategy offering, the agency appears ready to meet that moment with clarity, ambition and a deep understanding of what it takes to connect with people in a rapidly changing world.
