nick bell

When I got my first job in the business as a post boy at Ogilvy I dared not believe what it would lead to.

I dared not believe that I would one day write the work.

Or that I would write award-winning work.

Or that I would become Creative Director.

Or Executive Creative Director.

Or sit on awards juries.

Or chair them.

Or become President of D&AD.

Or meet the Queen!

Because I had been to a nice school I was being trained to become an account man.

But I wanted to create the work.

I was given my chance by David Abbott.

In eight and a half years at his wonderful agency I learned so much and won my first awards.

Moving on to Leo Burnett, I was appointed Executive Creative Director within two years.

Here I was chiefly responsible for turning a previously creatively undistinguished agency into a serial award winner - one year the most awarded agency in film at Cannes.

In three and a half years at J Walter Thompson, as well as winning the global HSBC pitch I also guided the agency from 89th to 1st in the WPP creative rankings of all its companies and from outside the top 100 to the 7th most awarded agency in the world in The Gunn Report.

For four years as Global Creative Director I oversaw all of DDB’s Unilever business worldwide, improving the work and winning both the Grand Prix at the Unilever Marketing Awards and the global Flora business.

I spent three years as Executive Creative Director of Fallon, London winning the Expedia and AXA businesses and creating work I am extremely proud of for Skoda, Cadbury, Expedia and AXA.

Most recently, I led the global Generali Insurance pitch win for Dentsu Mcgarrybowen, wrote the new recruitment campaign for the NHS and, working from the Cabinet Office in Whitehall, oversaw key Government communications projects, including 'Hands, Face, Space’and the launch of the NHS App.

In my time I have won awards for my work on Volvo, The Economist, IKEA, BT, RSPCA, McDonald’s, Heinz, John West, Mercedes-Benz, Procter & Gamble, Smirnoff, Golden Wonder, HSBC, Nestlé, MTV, Unilever, Cadbury and Skoda.

I have achieved the ‘Advertiser of the Year’ award twice – for McDonald’s and for Heinz.

My personal awards include the Cannes Grand Prix, 5 Cannes Gold Lions, 2 D&AD Silver Awards and the Andy Award of Excellence and I have won many other top awards in my position as Executive Creative Director.

I have pitched successfully both locally and globally, most notably for HSBC, Flora, Expedia, AXA and Generali.

And I have received the honour of being elected President of D&AD by my peers.

I hire well and I have high creative standards.

I win the trust of senior clients and I like to work closely and transparently with them, finding this the way to develop better relationships and better work.

I believe that what a brand does is more important than what it says – that action is more powerful than assertion.

And I believe it is brands that interact with people and reward them in their everyday lives – brands that transcend advertising and become part of culture - which win.

And meeting the Queen?

Well, buy me a beer and I’ll tell you all about it.