Dan Vanderhei Resume

Senior Creative Leader

Brand Storyteller | Human-Centered Creative | Culture Builder

Creative leader with 15+ years of experience crafting compelling brand narratives and leading emotionally resonant campaigns for global brands like Xbox, T-Mobile, and EA. Known for blending conceptual craft with strategy, and for fostering cultures where creative teams thrive. Passionate about turning complex ideas into elegant creative solutions and coaching high-performing, collaborative teams to deliver culturally relevant work that drives results.

EXPERTISE

Award-Winning Creative Leadership — Driving strategic concepts from brief to execution

Copy Playbooks & Brand Voice — Systemic brand voice alignment via copy frameworks and libraries

GenAI Integration & Creative Ops — Scaling content through data, tools & innovation

Cross-Platform Content at Scale — Building scalable platforms for consistent messaging

Creative Team Leadership — Fostering high-performing, insight-driven teams

EXPERIENCE

AAF Seattle

Board of Directors, Education Director 2025 — Present

T-Mobile Studio, Bellevue, WA

Sr. Manager, Creative Direction 2023 - 2024

Built and led T-Mobile's in-house B2B creative team, scaling operations and evolving brand systems to support enterprise storytelling while doubling creative output
Led major cross-platform campaigns, including 5G Adventure and Unconventional Awards
Directed social activations on SailGP and PGA partnerships, blending influencer content with real-time event storytelling
Built comprehensive copy library and playbook ensuring consistency across all marketing channels
Cut design cycles 90%, implementing Figma-based design system & GenAI workflows

CREATIVE CONSULTANT, Seattle, WA

Creative Director & Strategist 2019 — 2023

Spearheaded the creative strategy for Microsoft accounts at Indigo Slate (2021-2022):

Led creative for global advertising toolkits for Microsoft 365 across US, Canada, LATAM, APAC, and Europe, increasing attach rates by 18% ($230MM)
Applied AI analytics—eye-tracking and heuristics modeling—to refine customer journey performance
Reimagined Microsoft onboarding with 3D motion-based storytelling system reinforcing cultural engagement

Wunderman Thompson, Seattle, WA

Group Creative Director 2016 - 2019

Creative lead for Xbox & Minecraft, pioneering digital storytelling strategies that redefined engagement
Directed Xbox Year-in-Review strategy and concept development transforming player data into personalized interactive trophies earning 149M impressions & 4 Gold Addy Awards
Built CRM frameworks with narrative personalization and modular design, increasing engagement 20% while cutting production costs 49%
Mentored a team of writers and art directors, fostering a culture of creative excellence

Razorfish, San Francisco, CA

Creative Director 2012 - 2016

Led Microsoft Windows digital and Mozilla Firefox and Qualcomm social accounts
Revitalized Acura's social strategy, developing a scalable content strategy and delivering stronger content quality and increased community engagement

Isobar, San Francisco, CA

Associate Creative Director 2007 - 2012

Developed award-winning creative for EA Sports, Dolby & Adidas campaigns
Successfully pitched and won Sprite's digital campaign with an innovative creative approach

AWARDS

• 4x Addys Gold Winner, Xbox Year-in-Review

• Effie's Gold, "The Win" Campaign for EA Sports

• OMMAs, Adidas "In the Game" TV/Social integration, Dolby "Update Theater" Social Innovation

• Mi6 Awards, EA Games

• One Show, Cambridge Technology Partners

• Telly Awards Gold, T-Mobile for Business 5G Adventure

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

• Empowering Marketing and Communications with AI, Certification, University of Washington

• Design Thinking for Innovation, Certification, University of Virginia, Darden School of Business

• Advertising and Copywriting, The Creative Circus, Atlanta, GA

• Bachelor of Arts (BA), Journalism and Political Philosophy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

DAN VANDERHEI