My career started at Leo Burnett in Chicago. I worked for and along side some of the best creative minds in the agency world. For ten years, I was given great opportunities to create work for Dewar's Scotch, True Value Hardware, Black & Decker Tools, McDonald's, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola. When a couple agency friends invited me to Leo Burnett, Japan, I jumped at the opportunity. For five years I worked inside a different way of communicating that was truly amazing. As Executive Creative Director of a multinational group, we were able to drive the creative direction and department to new levels of creativity and the agencies' first ever Cannes Grand Prix.
My introduction to entertainment came with a phone call from my dear friend to be a Producer and Brand Consultant on a Warner Brothers television show in Los Angeles called "Trust Me." A show about a "fictional" Chicago Ad Agency, how could I pass on this? Developing this series opened my eyes to another level of production and a world of entertainment marketing and branded entertainment.
When the series ended, I decided to stay in LA and I spent the next four years with one of the signature entertainment agencies in Los Angeles, Troika Design Group. Working along side an amazing collection of artists, designers and producers, I was able to rebrand and launch a wide range of networks and shows from AMC to ESPN, Disney to A&E. And as much as I enjoyed working on multiple projects, when one of the greatest brands in the world called, I felt it was a great chance to focus on one brand and see what life was like on the client side.
I'm currently the Vice President & Group Creative Director for CNN Creative Marketing in Atlanta. Along with a very talented group of producers, designers, writers and directors, we've launched over 40 CNN Original Series, multiple films, podcasts, CNN+ and promoted a wide range of news shows, events and digital products across CNN, HLN, & CNNi. Our team has been honored with four News and Documentary Emmys for Outstanding Promotion and named Global Marketer of the year by Promax six times.