Creative Leadership
Building a Global Creative Team for Impact
Building a Global Creative Team for Impact
By building a culture of collaboration, trust, and creative excellence, I transformed
a small team into a global creative force—delivering high-impact campaigns for YouTube across continents and cultures. By thoughtfully integrating AI into our workflows, I gave the team the confidence and capacity to experiment boldly, iterate rapidly, and deliver campaigns with greater efficiency than ever before.
a small team into a global creative force—delivering high-impact campaigns for YouTube across continents and cultures. By thoughtfully integrating AI into our workflows, I gave the team the confidence and capacity to experiment boldly, iterate rapidly, and deliver campaigns with greater efficiency than ever before.
At A Glance
Overview
As Creative Director at .Monks, I was entrusted with leading the creative team to serve as partners with YouTube Artist Marketing – a role that demanded both vision and empathy. Starting with a nimble team of three, I grew and shaped a multidisciplinary group of ten, spanning New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Austin and Latin America. Together, we delivered a high volume of scalable weekly campaigns for both established and emerging artists, as well as bespoke creative for major cultural moments—work that resonated in-app and on the streets of the world’s most influential cities.
Leadership & Team Building
Scaling with Purpose:
My first priority was to build a team that could thrive in a fast-paced, global environment. I recruited not just for skill, but for adaptability, creative curiosity, and a collaborative spirit. Each new hire brought a unique perspective, enriching our collective approach and ensuring we could meet the diverse needs of YouTube’s artist ecosystem.
Fostering Growth & Ownership:
I established clear structures – weekly syncs, creative reviews, and mentorship touchpoints – to ensure every team member felt supported and empowered. By promoting open feedback and shared creative ownership, I cultivated an environment where designers felt safe to take risks and contribute meaningfully.
Creative Campaign Outcomes
Weekly Scalable Campaigns
Consistent Excellence
We delivered fresh, high-quality creative every week, supporting a spectrum of artists from global icons to rising stars.
Flexible Design Systems
My team developed templates that could flex, allowing us to maintain originality and brand coherence at scale—ensuring each campaign was in adherence with brand standards and our creative bar.
Bespoke Cultural Moments
Strategic Storytelling
For milestone events – album launches, anniversaries, award seasons – we crafted one-of-a-kind campaigns that celebrated both the artist and the cultural moment.
Global Visibility
Our work was seen in-app by millions and featured on billboards and installations in major markets like New York, Los Angeles, and London, amplifying impact far beyond the screen.
Managing Global Creative Production
Cross-Timezone Collaboration
I implemented workflows that bridged time zones
and cultures, ensuring seamless communication
and creative alignment across continents.
and cultures, ensuring seamless communication
and creative alignment across continents.
Operational Excellence
By balancing structure with flexibility, I enabled the team to deliver under tight deadlines without sacrificing quality or wellbeing.
Leadership Philosophy
I believe that authentic leadership is about creating the conditions for others to excel—through clarity, fairness, and genuine care. By prioritizing open communication and mutual respect, I built a team that was not only productive but also deeply invested in our shared success. This approach fostered resilience, creativity, and a sense of belonging that translated directly into the quality and impact of our work.
Team Members: Adam Kramer, Jess Ryden, Tom Kim, Tony Chiang, Ken Hamel, Mike Morra, Dani Grippo, Dustin Young, Fede Fiori, Grace Sbrocco