CEO MONTHLY / CEO OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2023 11 CEO MONTHLY / ISSUE 2 2024 10 Established in 2011, Creature is passionate about making work that real people can’t help but care about. As a creative advertising agency, its team believes in the commercial power of creativity and utilises this power to create effective campaigns for blue chip organisations such as Dunelm, Carling, the British Red Cross, Moonpig, Tetley, and many more. CEO & Founder, Dan Cullen-Shute, is dedicated to transforming the industry for his clients, colleagues, and shareholders, and channelling his people-centric approach into all aspects of his leadership. For his empowering direction, we have bestowed Dan Cullen-Shute with our award for CEO of the Year 2023 (Advertising) – London. Like every creative agency, Creature wants to make great work – but it also wants to leave the industry better than it found it. That means that while other businesses chase headlines, Creature has always chased meaningful change, alongside harnessing what they call ‘intelligent misbehaviour’ to create great advertising, that makes a significant impact in the real world and delivers sustainable results for their clients. More than just a traditional creative agency, in 2017, CullenShute and Andrew Gibson, Creature’s Chief Strategy Officer, launched White Crow, a strategic consultancy division designed to transform the way businesses operate Dan Cullen-Shute: An Advocate for Peoplecentric Advertising and behave as well as communicate, and in turn, deepening their strategic client relationships. White Crow was an example of how Intelligent Misbehaviour could work at a structural level, as well as a creative tool. Where the rest of the advertising industry fretted about the impact consultancies would have on their business, Creature took them on at their own game, developing a series of tools and services that would allow clients to define their brands and businesses from the inside out. That constant drive to innovate has recently led to Creature leading the industry charge on AI, launching a brace of AIdriven strategic and production tools, that allow clients to move faster, and think bigger than they would have been able to in the past. Once again, where other agencies saw threats, Creature saw opportunity. That flexibility and willing to do the unexpected came to the forefront when Covid struck, and Creature shifted to remote-first working long before any lockdowns were announced: and their return to office followed a similar pattern. While other businesses vacillated over getting everyone back in or getting rid of their office space and staying remote, Creature saw an opportunity. Driven, in part, by Cullen-Shute and the rest of the leadership team’s fierce advocacy for flexible working, Creature adopted what they called a 3:2 approach, rooted in structured flexibility (with everyone in the office on the same two consecutive days). As a result, Cullen-Shute’s team were able to harness the great things remote-working had brought (better work/ life balance, more flexibility for parents and carers, and increased efficiency of working) with the effectiveness so many creative businesses enjoy when their teams are working together. It also allowed Creature to recruit talent from further afield: a London agency, no longer limited by London geography. A firm believer that there is nothing more essential to a business’s success than a positive company culture, Creature fosters a welcoming environment with the support of its diverse and passionate team. During a recruitment process designed to be as creative as the work the agency produces, Cullen-Shute’s leadership team seek talented professionals that will add value to every project they touch. Much less important than prior experience or CV is a desire to do brilliant stuff, and to do it in the right way – Creature is full of people who want to have a positive impact, and to do good, as well as to do good work. The positive impact of that culture is evidenced by their low turnover rate of only 11%, compared to the industry average of 36%. On his approach to leadership, Cullen-Shute shares, “A lot of my job is making sure that everything and everyone is okay. It’s easy to run a good business when everything’s going well, but everything won’t always be smooth sailing. Those are the times when you really find out how good you are. It is a CEO’s role to ensure everyone understands the journey they’re on and believes in their ability to succeed. Tenacity, drive, passion, clarity of thought, and clarity of communication—these are the qualities you need, and the things I hope I possess.” As a CEO, he understands the importance of personal and professional development, and through his current role, he hopes to work across more markets on a greater scale. Alongside his own career growth, Cullen-Shute aims to expand his work with the Living Wage Foundation and XLP, a charity dedicated to creating positive futures for young people. Cullen-Shute’s people-centric leadership and dedication to his creative team has led him to receive the honour of a CEO of the Year award. He says, “I’ve worked extremely hard, and I like to think that I’m fairly good at what I do, but I also know that I wouldn’t be where I am today without a great deal of luck and privilege. The truth is, I get more pleasure from seeing people I’ve helped and empowered succeed than I ever will from my own success. A leader is only as good as the team they’re leading, and I’ve worked hard to build a brilliant team at Creature. In a chaotic world that shows no sign of slowing down, I will continue to focus on being good enough for my team, whatever that may mean in the future.” Contact: Dan Cullen-Shute Company: Creature London Web Address: www.creaturelondon.com
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