Chris Garbutt

Chris Garbutt

Chief Creative Officer, Global Co-President at Virtue
New York, United States

About me

Chris is responsible for the creative excellence of Virtue and VMG. For over two decades,
Garbutt has been an influential marketing creative leader. Originally South African, he has
worked in Europe and the US, across brands such as Adidas, Apple, Airbnb, McDonalds,
Unilever, Coca Cola and Louis Vuitton. Before VMG, he co-founded a marketing consultancy, PLTFRMR. Prior to that, he was Global Chief Creative Officer of TBWA. His work and leadership have won numerous awards, including several Cannes Grand Prix, Clios and D&AD “Agency of the Year” and inclusion for TBWA in Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies.

Awards

Positions

Chief Creative Officer, Global Co-President
Brooklyn, United States
November 2020 - Present (3 years 4 months)
Chief Creative Officer
New York, United States
May 2014 - August 2015 (1 year 3 months)
In addition to being CCO, Chris is a member of the agency’s Worldwide Creative Council. He has won numerous awards – including Grand Prix – in nearly every industry festival around the world.
Prior to his current assignment, Chris was Chief Creative Officer of O&M Paris, where he won an average of seven Cannes Lions per year and propelled the agency to the status of one of the top creative agencies in France and the world.
Chris is constantly looking for new and surprising ways to engage people with brands. He’s obsessed with making brands matter in people’s lives. He’s driven to connect to people with social media, to inspire play with gaming, to move audiences emotionally with storytelling and to create product innovation that’s useful in life.
Chris hails from South Africa, but lived in Europe for 11 years before moving to New York City. Prior to joining O&M, he was a creative director for top agencies such as TBWA Hunt Lascaris South Africa (ranked top creative agency globally for two years) and TBWA Paris (ranked Agency of the Year at Cannes five years in a row).
Creative Director
Levallois-Perret, France
January 2007 - April 2014 (7 years 3 months)
Creative Director
Levallois-Perret, France
January 2007 - April 2014 (7 years 3 months)

Education

BA Graphic Design

1991 - 1995 (4 years)

Similar Talent

Alex Lopez
Global President, Chief Creative Officer
McCann Worldgroup
Fura Johannesdottir
Global Chief Creative Officer
Huge
Judy John
Global Chief Creative Officer
Edelman
Shaun McIlrath
Global Chief Creative Officer
Iris Worldwide
Debbi Vandeven
Global Chief Creative Officer
VML, Kansas City
Jeremy Perrott
Global Chief Creative Officer
McCann Health
Frederic Bonn
Global Chief Creative Officer
DLG (Digital Luxury Group)
Peter Lund
Global Chief Creative Officer
AKQA

Create a free Talent profile and become a member of AdForum

Get Started