The Future of In-House Creative Leadership

Matt Watson, Executive Creative Director at Sips&Bites, PepsiCo's in-house creative agency. Matt is an award-winning creative leader who has shaped bold, entertaining campaigns for major global brands. His integrated thinking delivers ideas that capture attention and drive sales across platforms, showcasing his adaptability in a dynamic marketing landscape. As of 2024, Matt’s astonishing number of accolades and achievements includes three Cannes Lions, with six shortlist appearances; four D&AD Pencils - including a yellow pencil - and a Gold and two bronzes at Eurobest. Other wins include seven Creative Circles, a Drum Grand Prix, a Webby award and multiple Caples, LIA and Gold Drum awards. Sips&Bites has been named 4th most creative in-house agency in the world by D&AD and 10th most creative agency in the UK at Cannes Lions, while Campaign named Matt himself No.3 in-house creative leader in 2024. And a cease and desist from Mariah Carey to end the year! In our 2024 report we outlined why I believe we are in the beginnings of a fourth wave of in-housing creativity. Download the report for FREE here.

Simon Au is the North American Executive Creative Director at Kraft Heinz's internal agency, The Kitchen. Under his leadership, the agency has achieved remarkable growth, expanding to over 100+ team members spanning two countries and overseeing 15 brands, all within just two years. His leadership has transformed the agency into a nimble, culturally responsive creative powerhouse known for producing fast, innovative work. The agency has earned numerous awards worldwide, including recognition at Cannes and being named the Drum's Global In-House Agency of the Year, ANA In-House Agency of the Year, and Shorty small agency of the year.  Beyond his contributions to The Kitchen, Simon is a dedicated advocate for diversity and inclusion in the industry, particularly championing BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and LGBTQ+ representation throughout his career. --- In our 2024 report we outlined why I believe we are in the beginnings of a fourth wave of in-housing creativity. Download the report for FREE here: https://theinsideout.community/resources/the-future-of-in-house-creative-leadership/#resource-form

Nish Patel is the host of the CreativeOps Podcast, which explores the evolving landscape of in-house creative leadership, and the soon-to-launch Prompting Humans podcast, focused on the intersection of AI and human creativity in all its forms. Nish has been working with enterprise marketing and creative services departments over the last 10 years, after identified the emerging field of Creative Operations, he has been talking about it ever since at dozens of conferences, webinars, and even hosting industry workshops. Nish is THE evangelist of Creative Operations. Born in Canada with East Indian heritage, Nish’s identity is a blend of diverse influences, shaped by American culture and increasingly rooted in ancient Indian teachings. This unique combination has taught him to learn from the past, embrace an open mind, and remain optimistic about the boundless possibilities of tomorrow. --- In our 2024 report we outlined why I believe we are in the beginnings of a fourth wave of in-housing creativity. Download the report for FREE here: https://theinsideout.community/resources/the-future-of-in-house-creative-leadership/#resource-form

Omar Fahmi is a seasoned creative consultant and design director with over 15 years of experience which spans across advertising, marketing, automotive, telecoms, prop-tech, and education. He currently serves as the Creative Director for Virgin Media O2 Business, where he leads the in-house creative team and oversees external communications for Virgin Media, O2, and Virgin Media O2. Under his leadership, the team has achieved significant recognition, including a gold award at the B2B Marketing Awards 2022 and multiple nominations in various categories. Additionally, they have been finalists in the B2B Drum Awards for two consecutive years. --- In our 2024 report we outlined why I believe we are in the beginnings of a fourth wave of in-housing creativity. Download the report for FREE here: https://theinsideout.community/resources/the-future-of-in-house-creative-leadership/#resource-form

Rishad Tobaccowala, a renowned business strategist, author, and thought leader with over four decades of experience in marketing, technology, and the future of work. Known for his innovative thinking and human-centered approach. Rishad has advised global companies and C-suite leaders on digital transformation, organisational growth, and creative strategy. Formerly the Chief Growth Officer at Publicis Groupe, Rishad now focuses on helping individuals and companies navigate change and adapt to the evolving nature of work. He has recently released a new book, Rethinking Work, which provides fascinating insights on how to reshape our approaches to work and leadership which is why I was particularly keen to get him to join me on the podcast. Pre-Order Rishad's new book 'Rethinking Work' which is out on 4th Feb 2025 https://rishadtobaccowala.com/rethinking-work --- In our 2024 report we outlined why I believe we are in the beginnings of a fourth wave of in-housing creativity. Download the report for FREE here: https://theinsideout.community/resources/the-future-of-in-house-creative-leadership/#resource-form

This time I am joined by Ceri Sampson - Group Executive Creative Director Sky TV and we recorded this LIVE at the Sky Creative Teams away day. As part of the Senior Leadership team at Sky Creative Agency, Ceri is a brand and broadcast specialist, and has successfully led design teams on countless high-profile projects, including programme identities for the Premier League, The Ryder Cup Formula 1. He has led channel re-brands for Sky Cinema, Sky Arts, Sky Atlantic, Sky One and Sky Sports. At various points in his career he has managed to get his hands on the World’s major sports trophies, including the World and European Cups, but he’s also helped our teams win a few awards of their own along the way too, including EMI, Clio, D&AD, Promax, RTS and BAFTA. --- In our 2024 report we outlined why I believe we are in the beginnings of a fourth wave of in-housing creativity. Download the report for FREE here: https://theinsideout.community/resources/the-future-of-in-house-creative-leadership/#resource-form

Warren Marenco Chase is a senior global marketing communications executive with 25+ years experience running agency operations in all areas of creative, digital and media communications, and leading some of the world's most valuable brands, at the most awarded global agency networks - Media.Monks, BBDO, Proximity, OMD and Wunderman. Warren is a seasoned ‘in-houser’ having built and ran Verizon's in-house agency operation in New York where he came on board as Chief Operating Officer. Now Warren is the VP, Managing Director of Copper Giants In-House Agency for Liberty Mutual Insurance. Which he calls “an out-of-the-box in-house agency” and ‘one-of-a-kind,’ in-house agency who also do work for outside clients. --- In our 2024 report we outlined why I believe we are in the beginnings of a fourth wave of in-housing creativity. Download the report for FREE here: https://theinsideout.community/resources/the-future-of-in-house-creative-leadership/#resource-form

Tea Uglow is the ex-Google Creative Lab founder Peabody-winning, and Cannes Glass President. Tea founded Google Creative Labs in London in 2007 and later in Sydney in 2011. Tea is now co-founder of Dark Swan - a creative & strategic advisory agency focused on future trends and exploring cultural-digital interface. Tea has created award-winning UX, AI and AR projects with cultural organisations world-wide. She is happily autistic, queer, and and was even the co-author of the trans flag emoji in 2020. Her book Great LGBTQ Speeches was published in 2022. --- In our 2024 report we outlined why I believe we are in the beginnings of a fourth wave of in-housing creativity. Download the report for FREE here: https://theinsideout.community/resources/the-future-of-in-house-creative-leadership/#resource-form

Our annual Inside Out® Awards winners ceremony was held in Central London on Thursday 24th October 2024. As part of the event we held a panel discussion with four of our judges to discuss the themes that had emerged this year and the ingredients of an award winning in-house creative team. Joining Emma on the panel was: Paul Collins, Global Brand Creative Director at Bang & Oulfsen Zoë Wedderburn, Group Creative Director at Applegreen Sabrina Godden-Tuma, Global Creative Director at Vodafone James Verity, Creative Director at The Jamie Oliver Group Our awards open again in March 2025 - sign up for our 'Insider' newsletter via our website to keep updated. ⁠www.theinsideout.community ⁠

Marc Babin, the Creative Director at Anyline and a member of Inside Out®. Anyline are a technology and data collection company based in Austria. Anyline enables businesses to collect and interpret visual information with any mobile device. Whilst we have already spoken to many in-house creative leaders at big established brands, I wanted to bring on a guest who is showing the very different ways a leader can have business impact with creativity.  Over the past decade, Marc has become a leader in digital media and creative content - even creating the opportunity for additional revenue streams for the business, thanks to the freedom and opportunities he has created for himself at Anyline. Marc’s story is a great lesson in creative influence, persuasion, and the value that can come when you choose to simply ignore the rules of the game --- In our 2024 report we outlined why I believe we are in the beginnings of a fourth wave of in-housing creativity. Download the report for FREE here: https://theinsideout.community/resources/the-future-of-in-house-creative-leadership/#resource-form