Ronny Northrop has come aboard independent agency Cutwater as executive creative director. His hire marks the first time that the San Francisco-based shop has held an ECD role. Northrop will partner with chief creative officer Chuck McBride to continue driving growth for the agency and its clients, as well as taking on a significant role in the development of the creative team.
Northrop joins Cutwater from gyro San Francisco, where he served as executive creative director and was the global creative lead of the HP account. Prior to gyro, he was chief creative officer at Y&R California, where he not only helped to win the Microsoft business, which doubled the size of the agency, but also launched the global Microsoft Cloud campaign, one of the company’s most successful enterprise campaigns to date.
“Ronny’s hybrid experience and creative thinking really stood out to us as we looked for someone to fill this role,” said McBride. “At this stage in our growth, we knew we needed someone who not only had a stellar creative portfolio under their belt, but who also understood how to develop an agency. On top of having those qualities, Ronny’s an incredible mentor to emerging talent and an all around nice guy. He’ll be a huge asset to both our clients and our culture.”
Northrop got his start at Crispin Porter + Bogusky, where he helped to launch MINI and Virgin Atlantic in the U.S., and created award-winning work for brands including truth, Burger King and more. Throughout his nearly 20-year career, he also worked at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, helping to create the first digital work for the Got Milk? campaign, which earned the coveted D&AD Black Pencil, three gold Cyber Lions and a host of other accolades. Along with leading the pitch that won the Sprint account, which he then co-ran as group creative director for nearly two years, Northrop also led the innovation team that created Hacking Autism, a platform to crowd source the first software for people with autism. Northrop spent two years teaching at Miami Ad School and has mentored many young creative people throughout his career.
“I’ve been a longtime fan of Cutwater’s work, so the chance to finally join forces was a no-brainer,” said Northrop. “The agency is at a pivotal moment in its growth – both in the collection of amazing talent it’s amassed, as well as in its impressive client roster, and I’m looking forward to helping steer Cutwater into this next phase.”
