The 2025 Creative 100: Agency Leaders Pushing Creativity Forward

Lauren Austin

Chief Creative Officer, MKG

Retro legends: In 2024, Lauren Austin led a multi-disciplinary team of creatives and marketers in orchestrating a four-city pop-up tour celebrating different Barbie eras, in a collaboration with Stanley. A record store, roller disco, honkytonk saloon, and a swim club each spotlighted different throwback styles featured in the Quencher collection.

Virtually different: MKG’s Clio-shortlisted work for Netflix’s 3 Body Problem transported guests at CES 2024 in a bait-and-switch involving virtual reality and behind-the-scenes experiences.

Breaking the mold: Drawn to those with less traditional backgrounds and resumes, Austin says: “There’s great value in understanding how the system works and how to work within it, but there’s also value in existing completely outside of it.”

Jeff Benjamin

Global Chief Creative Officer, Tombras 

Pampering pooches: Jeff Benjamin helped America’s canine population reach new heights in 2024 as part of the team that launched an airline with pet care subscription service Bark. With dog-centric amenities and an international marketing campaign, BarkAir wasn’t just pie in the sky—it actually flew, and is still going, with over 100 flights to date. 

Flying high: Knoxville-based Benjamin has juiced Tombras’ creative momentum in the past year, with the agency developing the first AI-powered billboard for Google and successfully winning new business from Spirit Airlines and Kellanova.

His best advice: “Make news, not ads.”

Rogério Chaves, Marie Julie Gerbauld, & Fabrício Pretto

Executive Creative Directors, David São Paulo

Bald ambition: Rogério Chaves, Marie Julie Gerbauld, and Fabrício Pretto celebrated receding hairlines with “Bald-Thru” for Burger King last year, inviting balding Brazilians to claim a free Whopper. The trio had the last laugh when the campaign won a Silver Lion in the Direct category at Cannes. 

Fine arts: “Shot on Faber-Castell” riffs on the famous iPhone campaign to demonstrate the power of manual craftsmanship, with pencil-drawn images that look as real as high-resolution photos.

Creative fuel: Chaves: “I love learning about the backstage of the creative process from people in other creative fields.” Gerbauld: “Weird is damn good. Weird makes us think differently.” Pretto: “Traveling the world is the primary fuel for my creativity.”

Jamie Falkowski

Chief Creative Officer & Partner, Day One Agency

Connecting the dots: Much of Jamie Falkowski’s role at Day One—which counts e.l.f. Beauty, Nike, and Converse among its clients—is focused on helping brands connect with the next generation of consumers. This year, he helped the agency secure new clients such as Pacifico and Canada Goose. 

Forgiving sins: Falkowski led the team that produced e.l.f.’s first global campaign, “Divine Skintervention,” starring comedian and actress Megan Stalter as a “sinfluencer” who temps people to commit skincare transgressions. 

Boo-ritos: He also helped Day One launch Chipotle’s best performing PR campaign in its history, a costume collection in collaboration with Spirit Halloween that sold out instantly.

Nick Farnhill & Iain Tait

Co-founders, Food Arts & Technology

Experimental taste: In summer 2024, Nick Farnhill and Iain Tait led the production of an audiovisual installation at Barcelona’s Casa Batlló Gaudi Museum—a sensory, synaesthetic collaboration between Adam Smith and Marcus Lyall, the directors behind the iconic stage shows of U.K. electronica duo The Chemical Brothers. 

Going global: Following the debut, Food is continuing to develop presentations for more venues in 2025, aiming to bring the immersive experience to audiences worldwide.

Transparent practice: The pair have scrapped “the big reveal” in favor of an open approach. “Everyone gets to see the process unfold—from wobbly first attempts to unexpected breakthroughs.”

Shu Hung

Global Chief Creative Officer, AKQA

Getting comfortable: Shu Hung is the creative leader behind Ugg’s efforts to cement its place in the fashion zeitgeist as the brand stages a comeback. After Ugg hired AKQA as its lead creative agency last year, Hung led the global “Feels Like Ugg” campaign focused on comfort, confidence, and communities.

Tee off: Hung also recently led a winning pitch for Tiger Woods’ Sun Day Red athleticwear brand.

Advice to live by: “Creativity thrives when people feel comfortable being themselves. The industry doesn’t need more people conforming to expectations—it needs the fresh energy that comes when diverse voices speak from their unique perspectives.”

Caleb Jensen & Blair Warren

Global Executive Creative Directors, Wieden+Kennedy Portland

Sorry not sorry: “Winning Isn’t for Everyone,” Nike’s campaign for the 2024 Paris Olympics, marked a return to a bold tone of voice under the creative captaincy of longstanding partner Wieden+Kennedy Portland. Spearheaded by Caleb Jensen and Blair Warren, the film, voiced by actor Willem Dafoe, asked: “Am I a bad person?” while listing the ruthless qualities needed to win, informed by athletes including LeBron James and Sha’Carri Richardson.

Winning streak: Other unapologetic work for the agency’s flagship client, “So Win,” picked up the 2025 Super Bowl Clio award for Nike’s first Big Game ad in almost three decades. Taking aim at the unfair treatment often meted out to female athletes, the ad concluded: “You can’t win, so win.”

Meghan Kraemer

Co-founder & ECD, Hard Work Club

Quality delivery: Hard Work Club has been busy creating a catalog of distinctive ads for DoorDash, and earlier this year, Meghan Kraemer was creative lead on bringing the global “Get More to Your Door” platform to Canada.

Dance revival: Rooted in the thrill of anticipation, the ad turned the act of ordering food into theater. “Our aim was something original and off-kilter, and everything from casting to production design to our track choice (“The Hamburger Song” by Bobby Moore & the Rhythm Aces) was deliberately put through this lens,” she recalls.

Keeping it real: Kraemer is a mother to two “indomitable young girls,” which allows her to keep daily work challenges in perspective and has shaped her into “a more efficient, less apologetic, and more ambitious creative.”

Pum Lefebure

Co-founder & CCO, Design Army

Democratizing dance: From its Washington, D.C. base, Design Army was the agency behind an imaginative campaign celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Hong Kong Ballet. Under Pum Lefebure’s creative direction, a short film whisked viewers on an unexpected extraterrestrial journey to reimagine classic ballet, taking inspiration from many angles—from Degas’ ballerina portraits to Renaissance art to hip-hop.

Her greatest muse: “To conceive the future, invent something new, and become a better designer, you have to put yourself in the foreign. A strange land ignites the senses and inspires like nothing else.”

Sharp focus: “The more you pour into your craft, the sharper you become,” Lefebure says. “Mastery isn’t luck—it’s obsession.”

Kindra Meyer

Executive Creative Director, VERB

Viral vibes: VERB, the brand experience agency that created the Up house as part of Airbnb’s Icons program, is known for work that breaks through. In 2024, Kindra Meyer did just that as her team orchestrated an “ambitious, daring, and a little bit scary” campaign to recruit regular people as spies to promote the launch of Amazon Prime Video’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith. 

Ideas with flavor: As creative lead for CookUnity’s Food Porn Peep Show pop-up, a “back-of-the-deck” idea to promote the food delivery service, Meyer ensured the campaign had bite while keeping everything brand safe.

Creative salve: Growing up off the grid in North Idaho, creativity in the form of writing, dance, and performance became a lifeline. Meyer, whose LinkedIn profile includes the title ‘Queer Ad Auntie,’ reflects: “I later discovered radical self-expression was central to my queerness, and was itself an act of resistance, connection, and joy.”

John & Luke McKelvey

Co-founders, Mirimar

Busy people: Brothers John and Luke McKelvey are founders and CCO and CEO, respectively, of Mirimar, ADWEEK’s 2024 Breakthrough Agency of the Year. The shop launched the new Beats Pill speaker with LeBron James and Lil Wayne, created New York hospital Montefiore Einstein’s breakdancing spot for the Paris Olympics, and partnered with Speedo for a relaunch campaign.

The sky’s the limit: At this year’s Super Bowl, Rocket Companies launched its new creative platform, “Own the Dream,” with an ad and a live singalong in the stadium. The two were involved in the work from concept alongside a multi-agency team. “We are as proud of the collaboration between our agency and the Rocket team as we are of the work,” they reflect.

Their advice: John: “Have exceptional standards but be easy to work with. Working hard and being kind to people is a great north star for going far.” Luke: “Start making things as soon as you can.”

Tori Nygren

Co-founder, Director, & ECD, Hogwash Studios

Iconic stays: Tori Nygren led the expansion of Hogwash from six to more than 40 people to concept and produce 13 campaigns in five months for the launch of Airbnb’s Icons, with events including an intimate concert with Doja Cat and a tequila tasting with Kevin Hart.

Thanks, mom: The “Mom-Clean” commercial for sustainable household brand Blueland, co-created with her fiancé and business partner, Matt Stanton, was filmed in the style of a rap video with fun trick shots to mimic the fast pace of life with kids.

Show up: “Go for coffee with people. Face time matters. The entire industry is about having great ideas and getting to know others and convincing them your ideas are great. That starts by just showing up.”

Mariana O’Kelly

Executive Vice President & ECD, Leo

From setback to celebration: As creative leader at Leo Chicago, Mariana O’Kelly led the team that put Molly Baz on Special K cereal boxes in 2024, after a Times Square billboard featuring the pregnant cookbook author was deemed too controversial. The team updated the packaging within days and Baz sold the special edition Baz Box—complete with a letter thanking the brand—via her platform.

Wholesome endeavors: Scroll-free Sundays help O’Kelly’s family, including 17-year-old twin boys, enjoy time together.

Her best advice: “Just make stuff. Don’t edit yourself. Be prolific.”

Daniel Portrait

Founder & CEO, Kamp Grizzly

Mysterious and important: Under Daniel Portrait’s leadership, Kamp Grizzly created an eerily immersive stunt for Apple TV+ hyping the new season of Severance. The activation surprised commuters at New York’s Grand Central Station by recreating the Macrodata Refinement office where the show’s actors appeared to be working like their characters. 

A real catch: Portrait’s greatest pride comes from “growing the cumulative imagination of the shop.” But he is also a charter investor and works on brand development for the Portland Diamond Project, which aims to bring Major League Baseball to Oregon.

Risk taker: “Taking the risk will always push your work and your career forward. Even when the results aren’t what you hoped for. Everything is a learning moment.”

Gordy Sang & Brian Siedband

Co-founders & Co-CCOs, Quality Meats

Acting the part: Leading ADWEEK’s Small Agency of the Year for 2024, Brian Siedband and Gordy Sang were the creative minds behind GoDaddy Airo’s Super Bowl campaign, “Act Like You Know,” featuring Walton Goggins as a small business owner. The tagline, “It’s like you know what you’re doing,” is something they personally relate to, as two self-described “dumb creatives running a business who’ve never run a business before.”

Throwing it back: For men’s hygiene brand Duke Cannon, “Earn Your Clean” weaved the brand’s hard-working heritage with humor, camcorder-quality footage, and a jingle for an ad straight out of the ‘90s.

Their best advice: “Your work defines you, so be naggingly relentless in the least annoying way possible about making the best work possible, at all costs.”

Caitlin Slack

Group Creative Director, Anomaly LA

Winning streak: Caitlin Slack has spearheaded successful pitches for Starbucks and Visa. For the former, Anomaly supported an ambitious turnaround strategy with “Hello, Again,” a global campaign ushering in a new era for the café chain.

Festive jewel: Last year, Slack led the holiday campaign “With Love, Since 1837” for Tiffany & Co, starring Anya Taylor-Joy in a nostalgic, snow-dusted New York City.

Point of view: “It’s impossible to divorce my experience as a woman from my experience as a creative leader. Throughout my career, I haven’t had many examples of what it looks like to be an outspoken woman in ECD or CCO positions. The few I’ve known were truly remarkable and made a lasting impact. Now, I strive to be that kind of example for someone else.”

Cha Spruce

ECD for Earned North America, Ogilvy New York

Winning delivery: Cha Spruce joined Ogilvy in October 2024 from Wieden+Kennedy, where they co-founded social-first studio Bodega. At W+K, Spruce led the social engagement and creative approach for “DoorDash-All-The-Ads,” its ambitious, award-winning 2024 Super Bowl campaign which proved the brand’s credentials by delivering products from every Big Game ad.

Fan party: Adding to their Super Bowl chops, this year Spruce led the creative for Ogilvy’s campaign for Verizon, which allowed fans to engage with NFL legends at Verizon FanFest events around the country.

Defining oneself: To young creatives, they note: “It’s OK if there’s no blueprint—just design your own.”

Lisa Topol

Managing Partner & CCO, Oberland

Disrupting the status quo: Lisa Topol led Oberland’s campaign for e.l.f. Beauty, “So Many Dicks,” which took aim at corporate America’s lack of diversity. The ads, which graced sites around Wall Street, highlighted that people named Richard, Rich, or Dick outnumbered Hispanic, Black, and Asian women on corporate boards. “This is one of those crazy moments when you have an idea and you’re about 100% positive the client will say ‘no,’ and then they say: ‘When do we start?’” Topol reflects.

Purpose works: Oberland saw 47% revenue growth last year and became agency of record for retailer Michaels.

Side hustle: In her spare time, Topol trains dogs. “It’s about finding the best way to connect with the animal in front of you. I don’t think it’s all that different in advertising.”

Oli Walsh

Founder & CEO, Invisible Dynamics

Going with the flow: Gap’s fall 2024 “Get Loose” campaign, starring pop artist Troye Sivan and spotlighting loose-fit denim, was one of ADWEEK’s top three ads of the year. Leading the creative studio helping to turn around an iconic brand is Oliver Walsh. In two years of working together, Invisible Dynamics and Gap have pushed the needle in terms of both creative and commercial impact.

Advice to creatives: “Meet one new person each week. Our industry is built on relationships.”

Call to action: “Ever since I was a child, I have always seen opportunities to improve the world around me. I believe that in our consumerist society, brands have an outsized role to play in moving the world forward.”

Farryn Weiner

Founder & CEO, Farrynheight

Global citizen: In addition to winning new business from Coca-Cola and Gap, and working with brands including Solidcore and Walmart Creator, this year Farrynheight led the rebrand of Semester at Sea—a personal as well as professional moment for Farryn Weiner, as the study abroad program also “changed the course” of her life.

Mindful practice: “My personal mindfulness and mental health practice is at the core of how I lead—and how I live. For me, leadership starts with self-awareness.” 

Outside of work: Weiner hosts The Farrynheight Podcast, exploring brand-building, leadership and personal growth. It has featured interviews with Christina Tosi of Milk Bar and Kate Welch of Rare Beauty.