TBWA Sydney appoints Darren Borrino as group creative lead

TBWA Sydney has named Darren Borrino group creative lead, bolstering the agency’s creative bench as it continues to lift craft and creative ambition across the group.

Borrino joins from New York, where he co-founded inkfish, a project-based studio that brings specialist global talent together for each brief. The studio delivered work for brands including ASICS, Therabody, Pfizer, PromethistAi and Our Next Energy.

Prior to inkfish, Borrino was group creative director at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, with responsibility for creative across Nissan North America and Hilton Hotels’ global business.

An art director by training, his career spans senior creative roles across New York, Sydney, Prague and Johannesburg. His work has been recognised with gold awards at major international shows including D&AD, Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, Spikes Asia and The One Show.

Alongside his agency work, Borrino is an AWARD School tutor, reflecting an ongoing commitment to developing emerging creative talent. He has also spoken publicly about the need to move beyond work that is simply “clever” toward ideas that genuinely persuade and endure, particularly as the industry adapts to new tools including AI.

At TBWA Borrino will work alongside chief creative officer Matt Keon and the broader leadership team to elevate craft and support teams in pushing ideas further, reinforcing TBWA’s Disruption approach through the work.

“I’m excited to return to TBWA. As an agency, it has always stood for creative bravery, and it feels like a privilege to join a team that’s hungry to keep raising the bar and making the work better,” Borrino said.

Keon added: “Darren brings deep craft, strong conceptual discipline and an idea-first mindset. He’s built teams, built a business, and understands what it takes to turn a strong platform into work that truly lands.

“His appointment adds senior strength to our creative department, and alongside the talented teams we already have, we’ll keep pushing the work forward.”