Trio of Executive Creative Directors Take the Helm at adam&eveDDB

adam&eveDDB has promoted Mark Shanley and Matt Gay to executive creative directors and welcomes US creative Katherine O’Brien to join them in leading the agency’s creative department.

The new leadership team takes the helm following the promotion of Ant Nelson and Mike Sutherland to chief creative officers earlier this year. The executive creative directors will report directly to Ant and Mike and will guide and mentor one of the industry’s most acclaimed creative departments. Last year, adam&eveDDB picked up 14 Cannes Lions, 11 D&AD pencils and the IPA Effectiveness Awards Grand Prix.

Ant and Mike said, “In Kat, Matt and Mark we have three brilliant ECDs, each bringing individual, world-class strengths and styles to the table. They make up a creatively diverse team that can guide and support some of the best talent in the industry. We’re under no doubt that the agency’s legacy of creative excellence will hit new heights under their combined leadership.”

Katherine O’Brien joins adam&eveDDB, bringing a wealth of integrated experience from agencies including Gut, Atlantic, 72&Sunny, VaynerMedia and Grey. She’s spent her career creating a range of traditional, digital and social-focused campaigns, including her work on McWhopper, Value City Furniture and Planters ‘All or One’ for the Super Bowl. Katherine is an alum of Cannes Lions See it Be It and the Adweek Creative 100.

Katherine said, "I'm thrilled to be joining this incredible agency that I've admired for so long. It’s truly a privilege to be working with so many smart, talented and kind people.”

Mark Shanley joined adam&eveDDB in 2020 as a creative director after spending seven years at Wieden+Kennedy where he was creative director on the agency’s Nike business, creating work including the seminal ‘Nothing Beats a Londoner’, which picked up the Titanium and Grand Prix at Cannes Lions.

At adam&eveDDB, Mark has been behind award-winning campaigns for The V&A and Pot Noodle and has written and art directed campaigns for Amazon, PUMA, John Lewis, Waitrose and Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.

Mark said, “Matt made one of my all-time favourite ads, John Lewis’ ‘The Long Wait’, and Kat made another one of them for Value City Furniture. So I couldn’t be in better company taking on this exciting responsibility.”

Matt Gay joined adam&eveDDB in 2008 and has worked on accounts such as John Lewis, Foster’s, Volkswagen, Marmite and H&M. He has picked up top honours at Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, British Arrows and Clios. Matt became creative director on John Lewis and Waitrose, overseeing creatively-lauded and effective campaigns with work including ‘Excitable Edgar’, ‘The Long Wait’ and ‘Coming Home’.

Matt added, "Working alongside Mark and Kat to run one of the most talented creative departments isn’t just a dream come true - it’s the proudest moment of my career. These kinds of opportunities do not come around very often, and I can’t wait to build on the great work done by Ant and Mike, and to continue to create work that resonates with the public.”

The appointments come after a highly successful year for the agency, as it won new business including Disney, PUMA, Columbia Sportswear and The Entertainer. The agency also won major awards for work on brands including Eurostar, Marmite, Pot Noodle, The V&A and Volkswagen.