As executive director, global creative operations, Lauren Lafranz is responsible for implementing global chief creative officer Debbi Vandeven's vision, helping to manage VMLY&R’s award-winning creative offices across the world, formalizing the global creative network and being a resource consultant to activate appropriate skill sets for clients. Lauren also works to expand creative standards and manages global awards planning.

 Lauren brings more than 15 years of experience to her position, including specialized experience in the awards community. The majority of her career prior to VMLY&R was spent with JWT. Her most recent position was global chief creative content officer, where she was directly responsible for managing JWT’s creative program and global creative initiatives. In addition to overseeing programming, she allocated creative resources, tailored showcases for recruitment and retention and advised on content for award show opportunities. Prior to that, Lauren held roles in both account management and project management, working on brands including Rolex, JetBlue and Domino's, to name a few. Lauren acts as director of VMLY&R’s global creative council, where she guides creative teams through the process of producing enhanced creative and manages the performance of each office in the VMLY&R network in order to create work that pushes boundaries and makes a valuable impact for the brands VMLY&R serves. She also holds the title of creative curator, acting as a steward of the agency’s creative work and ensuring the highest quality work is cultivated and advanced for VMLY&R’s clients. Additionally, Lauren’s ability to identify rising creative talent puts her in a great position to recommend talent for specific assignments across global brands. When Lauren is not tending to the globe’s most creative talent and their ideas, you can find her traveling with or relaxing at home in New Orleans with her favorite people — her family.

As Director of Creative Program and Initiatives, Lauren was directly responsible for running JWT’s Global Insomnia Briefs and Pioneering Plan. Lauren’s historical creative knowledge and opinions were invaluable in her role as new business and global business/ brand creative content consultant. The genuine and special relationships she fostered with our creative talent made her a crucial member of our creative resource and retention advocate team. • Insomnia Briefs: A proactive effort designed to inspire the creative department to solve the problems that keep our clients up at night• Pioneering Plans: An internal award program that guides and tracks our global award show efforts, celebrates current highlights, inspires future creative output, and encourages global collaborationUsing her knowledge base for all previous J Walter Thompson campaigns, Lauren advised tailored showcases as prospecting tool that show off our best recent work in a consistent and easy to navigate manner. She connected talent with relevant experience to opportunities around network, consulted for upcoming new business pitches, and recommended creative resources for new business projects. Lauren supervised the New Business Monthly Report with product and service reels and the showcase work, controlled the new business bespoke reels and the Global Business historical assets. Quarterly, Lauren evaluated, filtered, and advised the eligible content for award show opportunities, recommended pertinent talent for specific global assignments, endorsed jury nominations for international award shows, proposed pertinent talent for speaking engagements, and supervised the Global Creative Talent database platform.

Lauren is the Director of Global Creative Challenge, which is J. Walter Thompson’s quarterly internal creative sessions to judge and enhance creative product, to set and launch creative initiatives, to resolve creative issues, and to analyze the creative performance for each office in the global company. As creative opinion leader, Lauren is the eyes and ears of our CEO and CCO ensuring the highest quality level of current creative work in the pipeline. Lauren is our unbiased and fair judge and guide for implementation of global work. After more than a decade in her various roles at JWT, Lauren is the definitive answer to our current and historical creative content inquiries. She is the master knowledge base of all global work with a comprehensive point of view on content to guide reel recommendations of global work for new business opportunities and executive presentations. In her role as Director of Global Creative Challenge and Global Award Shows, Lauren leads J. Walter Thompson’s Cannes Festival of Creativity and Global Awards Plan through external promotion of our content and our creative talent with jury assignments.As the head of the creative content department, Lauren supervises and trains 200+ global, regional, and local Content Managers on internal and external content and award related programs.

Clients. Rolex, JetBlue

Promotional Marketing. NFL, MLB, NBA, and Playboy

Client. Domino's