Hello, I'm Brett Gander

Senior Art Director | CGS Inc. | New York, NY | Apr 2025 – Jun 2026

• Led creative direction across 5 brand identities in a 12-month span, partnering hand in hand with executive leadership and C-suite stakeholders to unify messaging and visual systems across digital, print, video, social, and experiential channels.

• Presented creative direction live via Teams to executive leadership and C-suite audiences for executive decks, high-visibility campaigns, and key events, securing alignment on narrative, visual strategy, and business priorities.

• Translated complex enterprise technology and immersive product offerings into clear, high-impact creative for senior leadership and customer-facing initiatives, strengthening go-to-market storytelling across multiple audience segments.

• Produced and directed a high volume of sales and marketing assets, including ebooks, case studies, presentations, webinars, videos, print collateral, and social content, ensuring consistency and quality across the funnel.

• Built and documented creative workflows and asset systems that improved production efficiency by 20%, giving marketing leadership more predictable timelines and stronger utilization of the in-house studio.

• Partnered closely with senior marketing and product leaders to synthesize stakeholder input into clear creative direction, balancing speed, brand standards, and business priorities across deliverables.

• Mentored designers through structured reviews, coaching, and feedback, maintaining a high creative bar across the studio and supporting team growth and consistency.

 

Global Creative Director | Forsta, Press Ganey, RioSEO | London, UK & New York, NY (Hybrid) | Aug 2021 – Mar 2025

• Built and scaled a global in-house creative studio from 1 to 11 multi-disciplinary team members across the U.S. and U.K., partnering closely with executive leadership and C-suite stakeholders to expand internal capability and support enterprise growth.

• Set global creative direction across brand, campaign, digital, video, print, and experiential programs for a multi-brand portfolio, including internal branding initiatives reaching employees and stakeholders in 100+ countries.

• Presented creative direction live via Teams to executive leadership and C-suite audiences for enterprise decks, high-stakes campaigns, and major events, helping align senior decision-makers on strategy, messaging, and creative execution.

• Led a $1.25M Times Square campaign featuring 3D anamorphic video, an on-location shoot, and a 4-screen takeover, coordinating cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders around a flagship brand moment with broad market visibility.

• Partnered with demand generation, sales, product, and executive leadership to translate business priorities into persona-driven campaigns that contributed to 32% sales growth for Forsta.

• Directed rebrand and campaign initiatives across complex enterprise portfolios that contributed to 19% gross sales growth for Press Ganey in Q3 2023 and 32% growth for Forsta, tying creative transformation to measurable commercial outcomes.

• Streamlined workflows across the 11-person studio, saving approximately 1 hour per day per team member and generating an estimated $115K in annual labor efficiency while improving quality, throughput, and team clarity.

• Led an internal agency audit with senior stakeholders that reduced external spend by roughly $26,170 per quarter and clarified when to activate in-house versus external partners.

• Managed agencies, freelancers, and production partners across multiple initiatives and regions, setting clear expectations and ensuring high-quality delivery under shifting business priorities.

• Advised executive stakeholders on brand strategy, creative risk, and investment, bringing strategic conviction while staying agile to evolving enterprise and market needs.

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Creative Director | HealthyLine | New York, NY | Aug 2018 – Aug 2021

• Defined brand and visual strategy across packaging, print, motion, video, and e-commerce UI/UX, working directly with the owner to align creative direction with product positioning, growth priorities, and brand evolution.

• Led cross-channel creative execution for a consumer wellness brand spanning product marketing, packaging, digital commerce, and promotional content, helping create a more cohesive brand experience across customer touchpoints.

• Managed global creative workflows supporting launches, localized assets, and international distribution needs, improving speed-to-market across a wide range of product and campaign deliverables.

• Developed brand guidelines and asset standards that increased consistency across international channels, distributor communications, and marketing materials at scale.

• Led ideation and prototyping sessions with cross-functional stakeholders to translate product requirements into high-conversion creative concepts for e-commerce and campaign use.

 

Creative Director | Bella Magazine | New York, NY | Jan 2018 – Sept 2019

• Directed creative for celebrity cover shoots and editorial productions, leading collaboration across talent, photographers, stylists, and editorial teams to deliver premium, high-visibility content.

• Led live creative direction meetings with the Editor in Chief, shaping visual concepts, editorial alignment, and execution priorities for covers, features, and branded content.

• Created branded assets for experiential activations, Entertainment Tonight promotions, Bella TV, and launch events, extending the brand across editorial, promotional, and event-based audience touchpoints.

• Improved the responsive digital experience through web updates and creative optimization, increasing average session duration by 10% while strengthening the brand’s presentation online.

 

Creative Director / Designer | Freelance | New York, NY | Feb 2013 – Feb 2018

• Led creative engagements for startups and mid-market brands from discovery through pitch, budget oversight, and final delivery, serving as both strategic partner and hands-on creative lead across multiple client accounts.

• Designed identity systems, typography, and video assets tailored to each client’s brand positioning, business goals, and audience needs across a range of industries and deliverables.

• Built user flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes for digital experiences, helping clients improve usability, sharpen execution, and bring ideas to market with greater clarity.