For many creatives, the path feels familiar. It’s less a career choice and more something that pulls you in. From the moment I was old enough to start making things, there was never really anything else that came close to the feeling.

I grew up building worlds out of Lego and sketching for hours on end. But two childhood moments shaped the path I’m on today.

The first was thanks to my grandad. He worked for More O'Ferrall and was the man you’d see up a ladder with a brush in hand, pasting those giant 48-sheet billboards. He’d bring home these A4 sheets which showed a scaled outline of the finished billboard advert, with the intention for me to draw on the blank reverse. What happened is I’d colour in the keyline drawings of the ads, drawing over Benson and Hedges pyramids, adapting them, mimicking them and turning the ads into something else. It was my first taste of the joy that comes from bringing ideas to life.

The second turning point came at my comprehensive school in Manchester. My art teacher was an ex-adman, and I asked him what a graphic designer did. I vividly recall him telling me they “spend their days drawing labels for bean cans.” He was a bit grumpy and dismissive but to me this was a lightning bolt.

From there, I followed the trusty faithful route to advertising: art college, a stint in a band, and then banging on doors before I got my break in an agency. I never wavered - starting as an artworker, working my way to creative director, and ultimately, making the move to set up independently.

When I founded Dinosaur, my ambition was simple: to bring a more irreverent edge to the work I created. That boundary pushing was what kept me going through those early years and it still does today.

When our NED joined us a few years ago, she was a little surprised to hear our plan for the year was simply “to work on more interesting projects than last year.” But that’s exactly what drives us. Clients know that when they work with our team, we’re relentless when it comes to developing the next creative idea. And that passion has fuelled our success: an enviable client roster, a high pitch-win rate, and relationships that last decades.

Of course, with that success came the need to build teams. Then teams to manage those teams. And then the structural and financial necessities of a business. And naturally, as the founder, I found myself being responsible for all of them. That’s where the conflict began. I love creativity. I’m good at it. But suddenly, I was also expected to oversee all this admin.

And here’s the truth: my heart will always be with the creative roots of this agency. Dinosaur’s reputation is built on the work - the thinking, the big idea, the craft. To lead effectively, I need to stay connected to that. Becoming a CEO in the traditional sense would drag me too far into operational gravity, away from the creative soul of the agency.

It’s not about being a helicopter leader. It’s about balance. Through my partnership with our brilliant Creative Director, Dan I can stay hands-on while also building something bigger. That range across my role - from making connections to shaping ideas helps me see possibilities others might miss.

I’ve always admired Sir John Hegarty’s stance on never dropping the word “Creative” from his title. He saw creativity not as a job you eventually outgrow, but as a lifelong preoccupation, a way of seeing the world and expressing yourself. I couldn’t agree more. Creativity isn’t something you step away from. It’s the heartbeat of a successful business, the reason clients keep coming back, and the glue that holds great teams together.

We know the commercials matter - they keep us going. But the way we achieve them will always be driven by ideas. And that means staying close to the craft and always pushing for work that makes a difference and that’s why I’m not changing my job title any time soon.