Things I’m proud of and grateful for, in no particular order:
The mentorship I’ve received from Jeff Goodby, Rich Silverstein, Margaret Johnson, John Mescall, Leslie Barrett and numerous other ad-industry legends.
The chance to become a mentor myself, and to help numerous other creatives become leaders too.
The 130+ advertising awards I’ve received at Cannes, One Show, D&AD, Webbys and other shows—including a Cannes Lions Grand Prix, (for a campaign that I wrote).
The 5 Emmy nominations I received for a project I sold in and then oversaw with Steven Spielberg and Lance Acord. (Alongside a brilliant agency/client/production team of over a hundred people.)
The trust I’ve earned with incredible clients at Adobe, Cisco, PepsiCo, Asahi, Comcast/Xfinity and countless other global and local brands to make ideas like the Spielberg one even possible.
The time (a wonderful) CMO at a Fortune 500 company cried when I told her I was leaving the agency.
The time that same CMO awarded us a multimillion dollar piece of business with no pitch—based entirely on our previous working relationship.
The excitement that comes with creatively leading (and winning) major pitches and new business wins including Propel by Gatorade, One Medical (Amazon), Indigo AG and Comcast Business—America’s largest B2B cable/internet provider.
The rush of branding, launching and then running the account for an entirely new mobile network, Xfinity Mobile and watching it grow from 0 to 5 million customer lines in 5 years.
The feeling of successfully co-leading one of Australia’s most famous ad agency’s creative departments while also being present as a dad.
The fact that the creatives I lead have acknowledged how much they value the example I set for work / family balance.
The knowledge that the women on my team know they can become mothers without compromising their creative careers.
The environment I’ve created in which creatives can challenge me, and feel comfortable coming to me with their concerns.
My ambition to help create an industry with less people who look like me at the top.
And the ability to accept that none of these achievements, leadership philosophies or awards are mine alone—I feel very lucky to have been surrounded by so many smart, creative people for so many years who have made me better. (And continue to do so.)
