Experienced Creative Director with over 24 years in design and leadership, now aiming to bring my expertise and proven success in managing and scaling large teams, driving substantial increases in brand engagement and adoption. Passionate about fostering creativity, solving complex design problems, and aligning creative outputs with strategic business goals.

VMware
2022-Present  Creative Director, Brand Experience
2018-2022  Director, Design and Video
2012-2018 Senior Interactive Graphic Designer

Design

  • Oversaw three global re-branding initiatives, optimizing design and video systems aligned with overarching business goals for increased brand presence and audience engagement

  • Developed and executed strategic plans that translated brand vision into successful campaigns, achieving a 20% increase in community engagement and brand relevance

  • Conceived and art directed event themes for annual VMworld and VMware Explore conferences, generating over 40,000 engagements across five countries as well as flagship events

  • Concepted, co-wrote and directed campaign on a shoestring budget that delivered over 1,000,000 views and drove increase in brand adoption and revenue for award-winning product, VMware Skyline

  • Tracked industry trends and formulated creative strategies for diverse business units and product families, enhancing brand visibility and market positioning

  • Unified digital brand system and product design system in partnership with product teams

  • Oversaw creation and design of branded merchandise across marketing, events, field marketing and employees, ensuring Brand consistency

Video

  • Concepted, directed and produced event open videos to set the brand tone, showcase the event theme and introduce CEO to the stage for tier-one events

  • Co-produced television-grade commercials featuring Fortune 100 customers

  • Designed and configured a full-service video studio, including specification development, equipment inventory and set design, reducing the need for external video support by 80%

  • Managed video studio and resourcing including scheduling, budgeting, equipment upkeep and staffing

  • Directed and produced filming and production of multiple online events (VMworld 2020, VMworld 2021, Empower 2020, Empower 2021, Empower 2022)

  • Directed the creation of a variety of marketing videos, ranging from executive messaging to event coverage to enhance brand visibility

  • Introduced and implemented state-of-the-art live on-site video, customer interview, and other footage capture capabilities for live events

Process and Operations

  • Established comprehensive design and content protocols that optimized the development lifecycle, resulting in a 15% increase in team productivity and improved stakeholder satisfaction scores

  • Developed numerous brand enablement toolsets to scale and increase productivity and capacity without increasing the need for headcount

  • Managed agency relationships effectively, resulting in a 30% increase in project success rates and an enhanced return on investment through strategic collaboration

  • Oversaw financial planning and budget management for in-house teams and external vendors, optimizing resource allocation and reducing costs by 15% while maintaining service quality

  • Served on internal AI Advisory Board to develop strategy for integrating Generative AI to enhance creative processes and drive innovation

Leadership

  • Mentored and guided a top-performing team of creative marketing professionals, fostering innovation and achieving a 30% improvement in creative output efficiency

  • Instrumental in growing and scaling a team of seven to a diverse team of over 50 members in five countries

  • Transformed the team from a creative services organization to a true full-service in-house digital agency and Center of Excellence

  • Led a team with one of the highest retention rates at VMware, with the average team member’s tenure at VMware being 5-9 years

  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams to streamline workflows and processes, resulting in a 25% increase in project buy-in and execution efficiency

Executive Collaboration

  • Presented design concepts and strategies to senior leadership, influencing key decisions that led to 30% improvement in aligning creative work with business objectives and OKRs

  • Managed and directed monthly shoots of CEO, COO and other executive personnel for executive communications, television appearances and remote event appearances

MonkeyChicken Design
Owner, Creative Director, 2004 – 2012

Focused on brand design, microsite design and development, video and animation creation.
Clients included Sun Microsystems, Nikon, VMware, Cisco, Juniper Networks, Net App and Apple.

frog design
Producer, 2000 – 2004

Project Manager overseeing graphic design, product design, brand design and strategy and multimedia projects ranging in budget up to $500,000 per month.

Clients included: Microsoft, Motorola, the Oakland Raiders, digidesign, Fresh Express, Symantec, Sun Microsystems, and more.

Awards and Speaking Engagements