Sam is a creative marketer driving results and growth through building brands and passionate audiences. He currently is the Chief Marketing Officer for Illumination, which is one of the entertainment industry’s leading producers of event-animated films, including Despicable Me—the most successful animated franchise in cinematic history—as well as Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch and The Secret Life of Pets and Sing films. In his role as Chief Marketing Officer, Sam is leading the full customer experience across brand, digital, theatrical marketing, partnerships, consumer products, and Illumination’s theme park presence.
Prior to Illumination, Sam was VP of Global Brand Creative for Apple|Beats by Dr. Dre after being brought into VICE Media to build and lead their West Coast in-house creative offering. His passion for Immersive Storytelling, Digital Innovation, Growth Hacking, and Team Building align perfectly with VICE’s mission to disrupt the traditional media landscape. Before VICE, Sam was Chief Creative Officer for Omnicom’s bespoke agency created expressly for McDonald’s. Built from the ground up to be the agency of the future, he led over 50 creatives across multiple Omnicom agencies to pitch, and win, the billion-dollar business. Prior to that, he spent over a decade as a creative leader at a series of top tier advertising agencies creating award winning work for a long list of the world’s leading brands.
Sam’s industry-leading work has been recognized by major award shows from Cannes, to Clio, to Webby. His branded content and personal projects have garnered press and acclaim from every major news and cultural publication ranging from The New York Times to ESPN to Wired.
