Jonny is a creative director and entrepreneur with 25+ years of international experience in brand building, leadership, and business growth. He has a proven track record of founding and scaling a general D2C business, managing cross‑cultural teams, and driving innovation for well‑known brands. An expert in storytelling, problem‑solving, and translating ideas into measurable results, Jonny has co‑founded and scaled an eCommerce business to $25+ million and won 60+ international creative awards.
Designed 50+ products, built the most innovative personalization tech of the time, grew the company to a team of 30 and $25 million in sales, and shipped personalized books to 176 countries worldwide.
Expertise
- Ad Campaigns
- Brand Strategy
- Copywriting
- Creative Direction
- Cross‑functional Team Leadership
- Innovation Strategy
- New Products
Work Experience
Campaigns and Creative Marketer
2025 - PRESENT
- Created personalized product campaigns for B2B lead door‑openers.
- Worked with multiple AIs to gather client data and conceptualize ideas.
- Polished ideas in Canva and Figma for presentations.
Publishing and Strategy Director
2022 - 2024
- Created a new category of personalized books for adults, which became the fastest‑growing category in the publishing portfolio within 12 months.
- Managed a cross‑cultural marketing team and a team of designers, artists, and writers.
- Integrated The Book of Everyone post‑acquisition into the Wonderbly portfolio and relaunched it to the global market.
CEO and CMO
2013 - 2022
The Book of Everyone
- Co‑founded and scaled global direct‑to‑consumer (D2C) personalized book business to $25+ million in sales across 170 countries.
- Grew operations from 1 book to 3,500 books daily while managing a cross‑functional team of 30 employees.
- Implemented successful growth strategies combining PR, shareable content, and performance marketing.
- Negotiated acquisition by Wonderbly successfully in 2022.
- Grew the email database to over 750,000. Successfully landed B2B partnership deals (Age UK, Battersea Dogs Home) through cold emailing.
International Creative Director
2001 - 2012
Grey Global Group
- Managed SEAT car brand communication for 70 countries worldwide, achieving a 45% growth in the brand.
- Contributed to winning 10 Effie Europe awards for business effectiveness.
- Orchestrated sponsorship campaigns with high‑profile celebrities like Shakira and John McEnroe.
- Presented new car campaigns to the SEAT worldwide marketing committee and board regularly.
Senior Writer
1997 - 2001
VML (GPY&R;)
- Led copywriting for major brands, including Carlton and United Breweries (CUB), National Australia Bank, and DHL.
- Launched two nationally successful beer brands for CUB.
- Won over 20 local and international creative awards.
Ran the creative for the international SEAT account across 80 countries for a decade, launching six new cars.
During this time, sales grew by 46.5%, and the brand went from 13th to 7th among the most reputable car brands in Europe. SEAT was the first car manufacturer to win the World Touring Car Championship with a diesel engine, beating BMW and Audi.
I worked on a number of campaigns that contributed to the growth of the SEAT brand.
The Book of Everyone | D2C Personalized Gift Platform
Designed 50+ products, built the most innovative personalization tech of the time, grew the company to a team of 30 and $25 million in sales, and shipped personalized books to 176 countries worldwide.
Through our mistakes and successes, we became experts in eCommerce, performance marketing, product management, storytelling, raising capital, and nearly running out of capital.
The company was acquired in 2022 by Wonderbly, the world's largest children's personalized book company.
Launched two new beers into the Australian market as a senior creative on CUB.
The first, Carlton Cold, captured 20% of the beer market in its first year and became one of the brewery's most successful launches. The second, Carlton Midstrength, became Australia's second most popular beer, with a 12% market share.
Other Experience
Education
1991 - 1993
Bachelor of Science Degree (Honors) in Business and Estate Management
Oxford Brookes University - Oxford, England, UK
Certifications
SEPTEMBER 2024 - PRESENT
AI Foundations for Everyone
AUGUST 2024 - PRESENT
Introduction to Generative AI
Google
Skills
Core
Brand Strategy, Copywriting, Scriptwriting, Marketing, Product Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, Brand Marketing, Branding, Content Creation, Digital Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Marketing Strategy, Social Media Content, Go-to-market Strategy, Digital Marketing Strategy, Marketing Research & Analysis, Marketing Communications (MarCom), Account-Based Marketing (ABM), Social Media, Performance Marketing, Ad Campaigns, PR Campaigns, TV Advertising, Facebook Ads, Paid Advertising, Content Marketing, AI Marketing, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Social Media Marketing (SMM), Google Paid Ads, Cold Emailing, Public Relations (PR), Affiliate Marketing, Repositioning
Business Models
B2C, Integrated Marketing Communications Planning
Platforms & Tools
Google Analytics
Other
Creative Strategy, Creative Direction, Messaging, Storytelling, Creativity, Advertising, Advertising Copy, Publishing, Team Leadership, Cross-functional Team Leadership, New Products, Innovation Strategy, Team Building, Creative Thinking, eCommerce, Brand Awareness, Leadership, Market Fit, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Business Strategy, Brand Positioning, Direct to Consumer (D2C), Growth Strategy, Video Scripts, Startup Marketing, Launch Strategy, Campaigns, eCommerce Marketing, Client Presentations, Visual Storytelling, Product Launch, D2C Branding Strategy, Content Writing, Pitch Books, Article Writing, Management, Business, P&L; Management, Research, Brand Design, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Hiring, Brand Building, Digital Strategy, Digital Media, Outdoor Advertising, Strategic Partnerships, Copy Editing, Slack, ChatGPT, Web UX, Growth Strategy Consultants, Website Optimization, Customer Acquisition, AI Chatbots, AI Ethics, AI Prompts, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Healthcare, Email, AI Content Creation, SEO Copywriting, WordPress, Education
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