Uprising: Chandler Gilbert Seeks Out the Unknown

Chandler Gilbert is a senior account executive at Leo Burnett in Chicago - a point of pride for the born-and-raised South Side Chicagoan. Recently celebrating his four-year anniversary at the agency, Chandler previously worked in community relations for three different Major League Baseball teams, the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers and his beloved Chicago White Sox - and still considers the sports industry his passion.

“As time went on, I desired exploring other career opportunities,” he tells LBB. “My wife is the reason I now work in advertising. She worked in advertising for years prior to me and thought my skills would transfer well. Safe to say she was 100% right!”

Of these transferable skills, effective communication has been one of the most important for him. “The work I do isn’t rocket science and a lot can be learned on the job,” he says. “However, communicating effectively has proven to carry through to every job, as this has been a requirement.”

He adds, “Getting hired at Leo Burnett changed my career for the better. Working here for four years now, I have learned what it takes to truly be successful - not just in account management but in advertising as a whole.” 

Now focused on being an agency catalyst on Leo Burnett’s Nature Made account, Chandler’s aptitude for creative problem solving and hard work grew from the influence of the city he calls home, and his parents. “As a Black kid growing up on the South Side, I have a unique experience and outlook on the world and people. I don’t exactly consider myself to be a ‘creative’ so most of my inspiration comes from life experience in Chicago.”

As well as sports - especially baseball - Chandler had musical interests growing up, playing the trumpet from 4th grade through to senior year, and performing in the marching and concert band. “It was a huge part of my youth and contributed to my love for music,” he says. To this day, he sees ‘being a sponge’ and collecting as many skills as possible as one of the most useful life lessons.

“The unknown has been my most formative experience so far,” he explains. “It’s hard to anticipate when you don’t know what you don’t know… Some things you must learn on the job, which can be tough when you want to be successful and perform well. However, soaking in as much knowledge from co-workers and experience on the job only makes you better as time goes on.” 

As Nature Made was a new account for the agency when he joined, Chandler helped establish the collaborative process between the teams, and has since contributed to the success of the brand’s current ‘Start Your Day with Nature Made’ masterbrand campaign. “At the end of 2023, the clients updated us on performance results,” he shares, “noting that our campaign improved the ROI of every media channel, delivering double digit-millions in sales to the business.” 

Seeing the clients meet these business goals and objectives is what excites Chandler most about his work. “When that happens, I know we are doing a good job!” To achieve this, he’s recently been focused on finding new ways for the teams to work together. “Everyone operates differently... Getting everyone on the same page can be a challenge but it comes with the job. I’ve grown to learn that not everything will be perfect and there will always be opportunities for improvement.”

Chandler has also been identifying areas of improvement in his own professional development, as part of this year’s Foundation VANGUARD programme from the 4A’s. “The programme has shown me steps I can take to navigate and be more intentional about my career, providing tools to help me prepare and identify my path forward.” 

The programme is designed to provide leadership development for the next generation of Black advertising leaders. Addressing the current industry-wide opportunities for Black talent, Chandler says that “exposure to advertising career opportunities” is the biggest challenge that needs broaching. 

“We need to start younger, and expose the younger generation to potential career opportunities within advertising. I think this will help tremendously as many people do not realise there are many career opportunities where Black and Brown talent can have success. People don’t look at commercials or ads and automatically connect the dots that someone or a team of people created what they are looking at.”

It’s the youth, and the potential next generation of advertising talent, which inspires Chandler today. “I look forward to teaching them,” he says, “but I mostly look forward to learning from them.” The account executive is also excited about the new ways that content is being created and consumed - an ever-changing landscape. “It forces agencies like ours to think about more creative ways to reach consumers.” 

“The most frustrating part,” he adds, “is keeping up with all the trends, tools, platforms and technology because they come and go so frequently. Even though it can be frustrating, it’s fun to learn about what consumers are gravitating towards.”

Outside of work, Chandler lets his sporting hobbies take hold, occasionally taking to the basketball court or golf course to decompress. “I see and feel a difference when I don’t do those things, so I try to stay physically active.” 

He also recharges and realigns by surrounding himself with family and friends, and is always looking for new ways to stimulate his mind beyond the adland bubble. “Currently, I am giving audio books a try so I can listen on-the-go,” he says. “And lastly, I keep God first because without him, none of this would even be possible. 

“In my current life stage, my family is my biggest motivating factor,” he adds. “Being a good partner to my wife and being an inspiration for my son as he grows wakes me up every day. That carries over to work because I know that I am working for something bigger than myself.”