Why Every Executive Team Should Include a Head of Creative

One observation has become increasingly clear to me over the course of my career:

The companies that treat creative as a strategic business function consistently outperform those that see it as a production department.

I've spent much of my career leading creative teams and participating in executive discussions about growth, branding, customer experience, and organizational change. One thing I've noticed is that creative is almost always part of the conversation, even when no creative leader is in the room.

That has always seemed like a missed opportunity.

When creative leadership isn't represented at the executive table, decisions often move forward without fully considering how customers will experience them. A business strategy can be sound, but if it's communicated inconsistently or fails to connect with people, much of its impact is lost.

A Head of Creative brings a perspective that few other executives do. We naturally think about perception, communication, trust, and experience.

We ask questions like:

How will customers experience this?

Does this reinforce our brand?

Is the experience as strong as the strategy?

Those aren't just design questions—they're business questions.

Over the years, I've watched creative leadership evolve far beyond design. Today, it helps shape digital experiences, content, branding, customer engagement, AI adoption, and cross-functional collaboration. More importantly, it translates business strategy into experiences people can understand, trust, and remember.

As businesses become more experience-driven, I believe creative leadership belongs alongside finance, operations, technology, sales, and product.

Because creativity isn't about decoration. It's about making strategy visible.