The Next Creative Leaders of 2025 are here. 34 winners. 36 creatives. All leaders to look up to. Their stories are incredible, empowering, and will leave you feeling inspired to take the next step in your career. We are thrilled to be honoring these powerhouse individuals and so excited to see what their next chapter will bring.
Share these women and non binary creatives with your friends and family, your LinkedIn network, and take this new class of Next Creative Leaders as a reminder that when we build each other up we can accomplish it all.
Who is inspiring you right now and why?
Anyone outside advertising... musicians, my nieces and nephews, stand-up comedians, and cab drivers with a theory about life. I’d rather steal ideas from people who don’t know what a Cannes Lions is, because great ideas need honesty, timing, insight, and nerve!
“I’d rather steal ideas from people who don’t know what a Cannes Lions is, because great ideas need honesty, timing, insight, and nerve!”
What is the ad industry’s biggest challenge, and how would you fix it?
Our biggest challenge? We’ve confused advertising with activism. We sell shampoo, but talk like we’re saving democracy! So we end up with work that is filled with purpose and empty of charm. My fix? Honesty! We need to admit we’re here to make brands impossible to ignore. But we’re not here to redeem humanity. We’re here to make you feel something, something honest and not out of touch.
How do you navigate being your authentic self in corporate creative spaces?
I don’t. I just show up! And work by one rule. I’ve got nothing to lose. If I hate it, I won’t do it to my team. If I learn something from them, I give credit. If I make a mistake, I admit it. And I’m never ashamed to ask questions. Pretending to know everything is the fastest way to kill ideas. Authenticity isn’t about being loved. It’s about leaving the room knowing you didn’t fake it. You have nothing to lose by being yourself!
“Authenticity isn’t about being loved. It’s about leaving the room knowing you didn’t fake it.”
What leadership or creative skills do you think are the most critical in the AI era?
AI can give you a dictionary, but it doesn’t know that one Arabic word can be an insult, a compliment, and a joke all at once. It doesn’t get nuance, or timing, or pride disguised as sarcasm. That’s why the only real skill that matters now is the human one, the guts to choose, and the guts to throw away! It’s about knowing what actually belongs.
What best practice would you happily throw out the window?
Best practice itself! It’s our industry’s comfort blanket! The moment something works once, we worship it and repeat it until we’re all doing the same thing. Creativity isn’t about repeating what worked! I say we do the thing that makes us uncomfortable. That’s usually the idea worth keeping.
“Creativity isn’t about repeating what worked! I say we do the thing that makes us uncomfortable. That’s usually the idea worth keeping.”
If you could change one systemic barrier in the creative industry, what would it be?
Hierarchy! It creates the illusion that authority equals brilliance and that age, title, or accent makes your thoughts more valuable. This kills freshness! This rewards voices that sound “experienced” or “global” while silencing the voices that might actually push the work somewhere new.
Check out The Next Creative Leaders of 2025
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