The Future of In-House Creative Leadership

This time, I’m joined by Laurence Stoffel - design leader and creative strategist who was formerly Global Head of Creative Studio at On.Laurence had spent over a decade building and leading On’s global in-house creative studio, helping transform the brand from a niche running company into a culturally relevant, globally recognised brand. During that time Laurence scaled the creative team from 1 to a 100+ global force creating one of Europe’s most respected in-house creative teams, and helping drive the brand to its IPO. With over 15+ years dedicated to building teams, creative vision, and scalable systems, Laurence says she thrives in chaos. She knows how to create the systems and culture required to keep creative integrity whilst being in hyper-growth mode, AND turn creativity into durable, conscious brand value.----------We offer a FREE Insider membership with access to our job board, learning resources and community updates — all designed to support you in your in-house leadership journey.If you’re curious more info is here: https://theinsideout.community/insider/

This time I'm joined by Visha Kudhail, Global Marketing Executive, author and speaker. With a career spanning some of the world's most iconic tech and media brands - including Thinkbox, Google, Pinterest and Square UK - Visha has spent two decades building marketing functions from the ground up and repositioning brands under pressure.She is a BIMA 100 Champion for Change, winner of Best Leader in Marketing (Brand) at the 2022 Global Women in Marketing Awards, and a co-founder of the FUTURES Network for women in the industry. Her debut book, Authentic Marketing, will be published in June 2026. -----------We offer a FREE Insider membership with access to our job board, learning resources and community updates — all designed to support you in your in-house leadership journey.If you’re curious more info is here: https://theinsideout.community/insider/

This time I am joined by Nick Law, Creative Strategy & Experience Lead for Accenture Song. Accenture Song is the global experience and innovation unit of Accenture that brings together creativity, technology, strategy, and data to help brands reimagine themselves for a rapidly changing world. Nick has spent more than three decades working at the intersection of creativity, technology, and design - holding leadership roles across agencies, technology companies, and global brands. Before joining Accenture Song, he was Vice President of Marcom Integration at Apple and previously served as Global Chief Creative Officer at R/GA, helping to shape some of the most influential digital creative work of the last two decades.Across his career he has worked with brands including Nike, Samsung, HBO and Google, and has twice been named in Ad Age’s Creativity 50 list of the world’s most influential creative people.We offer a FREE Insider membership with access to our job board, learning resources and community updates — all designed to support you in your in-house leadership journey.If you’re curious more info is here: https://theinsideout.community/insider/

This time, I am joined by Lee Bofkin, Co‑Founder & CEO of Global Street Art, Europe’s leading mural and hand-painted advertising company.Lee's journey spans unconventional beginnings in breakdancing and finance to earning a PhD in Evolutionary Mathematics from the University of Cambridge.Eventually, Lee co-founded Global Street Art, whose in-house gallery is an out of this world extensive visual archive. Lee talks about how urban creativity can inspire brands which is why he is the Inside Out Community’s official ‘inspiration partner’, so of course I wanted him to join me on the podcast - not only for his creativity but also to talk about how a brand’s archives can be source of inspiration.We offer a FREE Insider membership with access to our job board, learning resources and community updates — all designed to support you in your in-house leadership journey.If you’re curious more info is here https://theinsideout.community/insider/

This time, I’m joined by Ekaterina Solomeina - designer, creative entrepreneur, educator, and Co-Founder of Future London Academy.For 20 years, Ekaterina worked as a creative and design director in agencies and in-house with icons like Michael Wolff and Donatella Versace and co-wrote a book about British Design.In 2013, she co-founded Future London Academy – a global executive school for creative leaders. Future London Academy's alumni are now thriving in the boardrooms as Chief Creative Officers and lead creative teams at the most iconic companies, including Apple, ECCO, WPP and BMW.Rather than focusing on one discipline or one industry, Ekaterina sits in a unique position: she sees patterns across design, creativity, business and leadership - globally, and over time.-----------We offer a FREE Insider membership with access to our job board, learning resources and community updates — all designed to support you in your in-house leadership journey.If you’re curious more info is here https://theinsideout.community/insider/

Sudarshan “Sudi” Waghmare is Global Head of Brand and Creative at Bitpanda, where he leads the company’s global brand strategy, creative direction and visual identity. With a background spanning international agency roles, in-house leadership and creative education, Sudi’s blends strategic thinking with craft-driven execution and fearless experimentation. This episode is structured slight differently as last time I spoke to Sudi he had some questions he wanted to ask me...so this episode is going to be a mash up!We offer a FREE Insider membership with access to our job board, learning resources and community updates — all designed to support you in your in-house leadership journey.If you’re curious more info is here https://theinsideout.community/insider/

In this episode, I am joined by Katie Rosen, Global Head of Creative at Gousto. Katie is a seasoned creative leader with over 20 years of experience leading in-house creative teams across iconic brands. Previously, she has led global creative at innocent drinks and held senior roles at The Football Association and the Natural History Museum. With a background in typography, graphic communication, and coaching, Katie is passionate about building inclusive, high-performing creative teams. She specializes in shaping brand experiences across campaigns, packaging, print, digital, social, and events, while nurturing a culture of creativity, collaboration, and strategic impact within organizations. She’s particularly focused on using creativity to deepen customer relationships – driving loyalty, advocacy, and connection across the full customer journey.--------We offer a FREE Insider membership with access to our job board, learning resources and community updates — all designed to support you in your in-house leadership journey.If you’re curious more info is here https://theinsideout.community/insider/

In this episode, I am joined by David Breckon, Creative Lead at Carta, a global fintech company helping businesses around the globe manage company ownership. Before moving in-house, David built his creative experience across agencies and freelance projects, working with a range of brands to translate complex ideas into compelling design and experience.Since joining Carta, he’s been shaping a creative function that blends business strategy with user-focused design, helping the company scale visually and operationally. From designing seamless product experiences to building a team culture that balances creativity with impact, David shows how in-house teams can drive real business value.-----We offer a FREE Insider membership with access to our job board, learning resources and community updates — all designed to support you in your in-house leadership journey.If you’re curious more info is here: https://theinsideout.community/insider/

This time I am joined by Gareth Chilton, a seasoned professional specializing in the integration of AI within creative operations. Gareth is the founder of ManMachine, a consultancy specializing in MarTech for Creative Operations.With over 20 years of experience in business transformation and two successful exits in the digital and MarTech sectors, Gareth helps organizations integrate people, process, and technology to optimize their MarTech stacks and operational efficiency. His expertise spans diverse marketing and consumer tech sectors, working with both startups and blue-chip clients globally.As an advisor for the Inside Out Community, Gareth provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of creative operations, emphasizing the integration of AI and automation to enhance creative workflows.We offer a FREE Insider membership with access to our job board, learning resources and community updates - all designed to support you in your in-house leadership journey. If you’re curious more info is here: https://theinsideout.community/insider/

In this episode I am joined by Nicola Wardell, Managing Director of Specsavers Creative. Nicola brings over 20 years of experience leading creative, brand, and marketing teams for some of the world’s best-known brands. At Specsavers, she heads the in-house agency, driving creative strategy and award-winning campaigns that have helped shape the brand’s distinctive voice.Before joining Specsavers in 2020, Nicola was Chief Client Officer at Havas and previously held senior leadership roles at GREY London, where she led on major clients including United Biscuits, GSK, and Pringles. Her career also includes directing internal and external teams to deliver a major brand re-launch for Airmiles, and agency-side roles with clients such as Gillette, Coca-Cola Enterprises, and Greene King.Nicola is known for her collaborative leadership style, passion for mentoring, and commitment to building inclusive, high-performing teams. Her expertise in delivering impactful campaigns and nurturing creative talent has made her a respected leader in the industry.---We offer a FREE Insider membership with access to our job board, learning resources and community updates — all designed to support you in your in-house leadership journey.If you’re curious more info is here https://theinsideout.community/insider/

It’s a slightly different episode this time, but I thought you might enjoy hearing the common themes that have come up for our Inside Out® members this year, the macro trends and challenges I have been observing and….my predictions for 2026!Access our Pathway by signing up to our FREE Insider membership here https://theinsideout.community/membership/Have a great festive break and thank you for listening! 🎄

Mali Okoi-Obuli is the founder of OURHouse, a global creative production house built for brands that think beyond borders. With hubs spanning London to Lagos, Miami to Madrid, OURHouse champions creative production that is more open, more creative, and more diverse — collaborating across cultures to make creativity limitless. Before launching OURHouse, Mali was Global Senior Manager and Executive Producer at adidas, overseeing global campaigns for football, adidas by Stella McCartney, training, sportswear, and more. She is passionate about reframing production as a strategic, creative force — protecting ideas, solving problems, and driving cultural impact at every stage of execution.-----We offer a FREE Insider membership with access to our job board, learning resources and community updates — all designed to support you in your in-house leadership journey.If you’re curious more info is here https://theinsideout.community/insider/