Turning Ideas into Actions
I have professional experience in 6 industries and more than 20 years managing in-house creative agencies: Creative Director for 7 years, 15 years in Creative Services. I have directed external agencies and managed in-house creative teams behind some of the world’s best brands and IPs.
My team and I launched products and services with independent budgets, deadlines and deliverables for a full spectrum of target audiences. I am adept in navigating complex business environments to achieve organizational goals. I have generated, implemented and scaled ideas effectively within organizations in fast-paced environments with tight deadlines. All projects demanded I leverage available resources to overcome constraints and ensure projects met timelines and deliverables.
Product photoshoot trial-run before the actual talent arrive on location
Final image from the product photoshoot.
Career Flow
I started my career in Marketing after earning my degree from Pace University. Working as a Marketing Analyst in Europe for several years made me realize I preferred the creative/graphics side of marketing. This career path change eventually led me to PlayStation’s in-house Creative Services department. Over a 15 year period, I led a cross-functional design team, managed agency output, directed the creative, worked across the organization and built consensus with my counterparts in Europe and Asia. Or to put it another way, I worked on the creative behind launching five game systems, 270 games and six rebrands before moving on to my next opportunity.
I joined the VR startup Virtually Live as a Creative Director. In the fail-fast/achieve-faster mode of a startup, I was also the Designer, Production Manager, occasional Copywriter, and on-call Video Editor and Producer. I loved how the “everyone is all in” mindset permeated the team, and I became a better designer after my time at Virtually Live.
Joining Western Digital to lead the in-house team for SanDisk leveraged both my hands-on design work from Virtually Live and my team and brand management skills from PlayStation. We launched 20 to 25 new products per year and created the packaging, print and digital marketing assets supporting those launches. Additionally, I worked on new brand design languages for WD_Black, Ixpand, SanDisk and SanDisk Professional.
And just to close the loop, my Marketing background has been as important as my design skills. By speaking both business and design languages, I am more effective at communicating priorities and the next steps to clients and creatives.