Natural Storytellingin an Artificial World.
Slayer of the Mundane
Working at the top of the value pyramid,
where instinct still matters.
where instinct still matters.
The Argument
Why I'm still here.
The great agencies died the day they traded craft for dashboards. AI did not kill them. It just made the work they had stopped caring about a lot cheaper to produce.
The bottom of the pyramid is getting cheaper every month.
The top is getting rarer.
What AI actually killed was the middle. Templated campaigns. Safe choices. The person who knows how to make work feel different is suddenly the most valuable person in the room. That has always been my job.
The Map
Where I work.
Twenty years has taught me where the value actually sits. The bottom two layers are getting cheaper every month. Everything above the line is where judgment still wins.
Where I work
the top four layers
What I delegate
the bottom two
The Path
How I got here.
Twenty years across five very different rooms. Each one taught me something the next one needed.
The Agency Years
Ogilvy. DDB. Head Lion. Learning the craft.
I came up inside the agencies that still believed creative was a discipline, not a deliverable. Concepting, art direction, copywriting, integrated campaigns, film. The full creative stack, learned the way it should be learned. Mostly the hard way.
Big Brands
Global accounts. Real scale.
DHL. Citibank. Unilever. Nokia. Pizza Hut. Working at scale taught me that craft and commerce are not opposed. The best creative is the kind that performs in twelve markets and still feels like it was made for one person.
Startups
Building from zero.
Founder stories. Crowdfunding videos. Identity systems for companies that did not yet know who they were. Calma Sutra reached number one in Food on Kickstarter worldwide. The discipline of clarity, taught by ambiguity.
Government and Regulated
Where the stakes are real.
Department of Justice. World Bank. Freddie Mac. Senior Manager, Content and Change Management. The hardest creative problems are not on Madison Avenue. They are inside organizations trying to change. ADKAR-trained. Sharper for it.
Small Business and Mission-Driven
The work that matters most.
Healthcare networks. Family-run brands. Public sector campaigns where the budget is small and the consequence is large. This is where craft and care meet. Where you cannot hide behind production value, only behind the strength of the idea.
The Witnesses
What clients actually say.
Four voices from four very different rooms. The work speaks first. They speak after.
"
Highly creative is the phrase that comes to mind when I think about Neil. I was particularly impressed by his innovative approach to change management. He engaged with cross-functional stakeholders at every level to identify pains and optimized workflows. He developed a dynamic change management plan that leveraged creative trainings as well as humorous multimedia awareness campaigns.
"
Neil is a consummate professional. I had the good fortune of working with Neil while he was at Portfolio T. I found him to be thoughtful, creative and always prepared. He exhibited a perceptive knowledge of the world. What I find most valuable about Neil is his unique approach to challenges. This combined with his intellect and curiosity made him an excellent business partner.
"
Neil is a natural-born creative. He is able to read a brief and translate the essence and spirit of it into creative that breaks through the clutter, exceeds the brief and delivers results in a way that few can. I truly enjoy the experience of working with Neil.
"
Neil and his team produced some absolutely stunning work for us. I had previously considered that it was not possible to achieve work of this calibre without seeking the involvement of London or New York agencies. Never have I been happier to be proved wrong. Neil and his team are a beacon of hope to brands hoping to make their mark.
The Writer
Fasten your deceit belts.
People think the advertising world is all about glamour, sex, and scandal. False. Sometimes it's about murder too. And who would know the behind-the-scenes drama better than a man who has spent half his life inside ad agencies.
Head Lion is a dark revenge thriller set inside the ruthless world of advertising, where ambition, betrayal, and power collide behind polished campaigns and boardroom smiles.
A second novel, Iron Sparrows, is currently represented by an agent. The third, The Mountains on the Hills, is in development.
Buy Now
Iron Sparrows
With agent
The Mountains on the Hills
In development
The Conversation
If any of this resonates, let's talk.
The best work I have done has come from conversations that started before there was a brief. If you are a hiring manager, a CMO, a founder, or a recruiter looking for someone who can hold the strategy and the craft in the same hand, send a note.
And if your problem is bigger than one person, I run Head Lion Group, a small studio built to do the same work at firm scale. Either way, the conversation starts the same place.