Susie Walker

DDB

Global Chief Creative Operations Officer

Susie joined DDB with the singular goal of bringing together the Network to ensure they were producing the industry’s best creative product. Winning Network of the Year at Cannes Lions for the first time ever, which she achieved within a year, was a clear sign a lot had changed in a short time. She rewired the creative culture of DDB from the ground up, breaking down cultural barriers in communication, geography and ways of working across a dispersed, global network to develop a talent-first operating model that brings people together by encouraging truthful, respectful appraisal of ideas across regions and at all levels.

Susie’s personal mission is to convince clients that creativity is a business driver, not a “nice to have”. After proving just how powerful this model can be for DDB in Cannes, her rigorous, objective and strategic approach to creative development has been eagerly adopted by DDB’s biggest clients, deepening trust and engendering greater collaboration between client and agency. It’s a win-win-win - the creative improves, the clients’ business grows, DDB’s business grows. Susie’s vision is for a creative industry which is fun, fair and effective. No wonder her unique creative operating model has DE&I at its heart. Using insight from her pioneering global research with the Geena Davis Institute around stereotypes in advertising, she developed and now leads The Female Coaching Circle which invests in DDB’s female creatives through training, coaching and community support.