"Wow," you're thinking, "he wasn’t kidding with that title."
Well, I am a writer. And I've been at this for a few years. So yes, this bio is rather lengthy. If you want to skip down to my resume, I don't mind. Seriously, it's totally cool.
Anyway, hi there again. Here's what I've been up to over the course of my career.
Before I get into the details of that career, the big news is that I am taking a break from the corporate grind and living in Paris. My daughter is attending a bilingual school and learning French as fast as her spongy little cerebrum can sop it up, and my wife and I are doing a mix of touristy stuff like visiting museums and exploring neighborhoods and non-touristy stuff like getting to know our local bakeries and jaywalking.
Yes, I know how exceptionally fortunate I am.
Now, lest you think it’s all coffee and pain au chocolat (though don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of coffee and pain au chocolat) I’ve been busy writing a book on how to lead creative teams – turns out that while there are a lot of places to learn how to be a creative, nobody tells you what to do if you are successful and they put you in charge of other creatives. I’ve also been coaching and mentoring other creative leaders, speaking on panels and podcasts, and generally keeping one toe firmly planted in the advertising and marketing world. On the side, I released an album with my band in the US, and when I arrived in France I joined an Elvis cover band (because of course I did).
Now, about that career.
In 2017, I joined LinkedIn as Executive Creative Director. In that time, I transformed my team into a finely-tuned creative machine that was named Advertising Age In-House Agency of the Year and made their Best Places to Work list for two years running. My work landed me a spot on Campaign’s 40 over 40 list, and helped the company land a spot on the Interbrand and BrandZ Top Global Brands lists.
For several years before that, I was a Creative Director at Apple. For the first several of those several years, that meant leading the team that created marketing in Apple Stores worldwide: the panels, the posters, the signs, the events, the website - the works. Then the Apple Retail Store and the Apple Online Store got smushed together into one multibillion dollar business, and my role shifted to run the team that integrated the whole experience online. Finally, I returned to my advertising roots and led the group that created interactive campaigns around Apple's products and values.
Want to know more? OK, let's jump in the Wayback machine. (Not literally. At the time I left Apple, they were not working on a time machine.)
I started off at a little agency in Chicago you've never heard of. It was called Gams, because it was run by the Giambrone brothers. (Yes, they were legitimate businessmen. No, the ads did not fall off a truck.) It was the kind of place that was either your first job or your last. Luckily, it was my first, and after a couple of years I was able to convince the folks at FCB to give me a shot. I produced enough work there to get an agency in San Francisco to hire me, which promptly went out of business when the first dot com bubble burst.
I freelanced around town for the next few months, until I heard that a couple of guys from Goodby were starting their own shop. Because I was just the right amount of hungry and stupid, I wrote one of the founders a fairly outrageous letter describing why he should give me a job (if you're interested in reading it, I've included it as an appendix after my resume). (Yes, this may be the only bio you ever read that has an appendix. I told you it was lengthy.) Then I went and knocked on their door. Paul Venables answered, and here is an exact transcript of our conversation:
"Hi, I'm looking for Paul."
"I'm Paul."
"I wrote you this letter."
"Thanks."
Slam.
An hour later, though, he called me. And I was hired as the first copywriter at Venables Bell.
That was an exciting time. It had all the creative energy of a boutique agency and all the insanity of a startup. I loved it. I worked on everything I could get my hands on. I won pitches. I won awards. I helped take the place from 6 people to 60. I learned how to sell great work through building client relationships and sticking fiercely to a strategy. I did it again and again. And I got burned out.
So I moved across town to a place that sounded a little friendlier: Buder Engel & Friends. Trouble was, they had a little too much nice and not enough killer instinct, and after about a year there wasn't much for me to do.
I went back to freelancing. But this time, I had a much stronger portfolio and a much deeper knowledge of how to run a business. I realized that everyone, clients and agencies, was a client. I managed relationships with each one of them. I stayed in touch when I wasn't working for them. I networked through them to keep building my roster. I bought them great big boxes filled with little tiny chocolates for the holidays. I did that for three years. And then I signed on with Apple. And I signed on with LinkedIn. And I left LinkedIn. And I moved to Paris.
And you know the rest.
LinkedIn San Francisco, CA
Executive Creative Director
February 2017 - October 2022
Apple Inc. Cupertino, CA
Creative Director
October 2009 - February 2017
(freelance in same position September 2008 - October 2009)
Freelance San Francisco, CA
Creative Director/Copywriter
September 2006 - October 2009
Academy of Art University & The Creative Dept.
San Francisco, CA
Advertising Instructor
September 2001 - September 2007 (on and off)
Buder Engel & Friends San Francisco, CA
Associate Creative Director
September 2005 - July 2006
Venables, Bell & Partners San Francisco, CA
Senior Copywriter
July 2001 - July 2005
Zuckerman, Fernandes & Partners San Francisco, CA
Copywriter
February 2000 - January 2001
FCB Global Chicago, IL
Copywriter
May 1997 - November 1999
Gams Advertising Chicago, IL
Copywriter
May 1995 - April 1997
Vail Resorts Vail, CO
Ski Instructor
November 1992 - April 1995
Dartmouth College Hanover, NH
B.A., Psychology
Brands I've worked on:
Apple, BEA Systems, BMW, Cadbury Beverages, The Clorox Co., Coors Brewing Co., CourtTV, Ebay, The Examiner, Firefox, Google, HBO Video, Illinois Lottery, Ingenio, iShares, Kashi, Levi Strauss & Co., LinkedIn, LucasFilm, Mervyn's, Microsoft, Napster, Nike, Nokia, Pacific Gas & Electric, Quaker Oats Co., Roman Meal, The San Francisco Opera, SanDisk, SC Johnson, Sega, Siebel Systems, Symantec, The Tech Museum of San Jose, Ubisoft, Union Bank of California, The Walt Disney Co., Washington Mutual, Yahoo!
Phew.
APPENDIX A: A Fairly Outrageous Letter
APPENDIX B: I Do Not Actually Really Really Really Hate FCB
I do not actually really really really hate FCB. Really. I was just a wee bit frustrated with them back when I wrote that letter. Susan Credle, you rock.
APPENDIX C: Congratulations, You Made It!
The end.