What Is Exec Search?

The brief has changed less than you think. What's changed is everything around it.

In 2019, hiring an executive creative director was relatively straightforward. You knew who you wanted. You knew where they worked. You called someone who knew them. A shortlist arrived in three weeks.

That's not how the best hires happen anymore and the companies still running that playbook are losing the people they want to agencies and brands that have figured something out.

The question isn't "who do we want?" It's "what needs to change, and what kind of person changes it?"

Those are not the same question. The first gets you a great candidate. The second gets you a transformative hire.

What companies get wrong

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Most briefs lead with the spec. Years of experience. Sector background. Award history. Industry profile.

None of that is wrong. But none of it is the point.

The executive creative director you need in 2026 has to do several things the last one probably didn't. They need to walk into a CFO meeting and make a financial case for an idea. They need a point of view in public, because agencies are now partly judged by how their creative leaders show up in the world. They need to understand how attention actually works not just in theory, but across channels, formats, and cultures.

And they have to do all of this while still making great work.

The craft bar hasn't moved. If anything it's higher. But craft used to be the whole game. Now it's the entry fee.

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Where the best candidates actually are

Not where they used to be.

The talent pool for senior creative leadership is no longer just the top twenty agencies you see at Cannes. Some of the most effective creative directors in the world right now are sitting inside brands, production companies, and consultancies. In cities that aren't London or New York. A few are freelance by choice and wouldn't describe themselves as open to anything, until the right conversation happens.

That last part matters. The best hires are rarely looking. They're having a conversation worth having with someone they trust, at a moment when they're quietly ready for something new.

Building that kind of access takes years. It's what we've been doing for decades.

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What a great process looks like

Short. Commercially anchored. Focused on where you're going, not just where you've been.

The companies that attract the best creative talent treat the process like an honest conversation. They share real context. They're direct about what isn't working. They give candidates a reason to be genuinely excited  something that goes beyond the job description.

The companies that lose the best candidates do the opposite. Long processes. Vague briefs. Internal politics that leak into the room. Candidates can feel all of it.

Before you start any search, look for what we call the three As:

Aligned: does the leadership team agree on what this business is trying to become?

Ambitious: are they aiming high enough for the right person to want to join?

Autonomy: will the hire actually be given the room to lead?

When those three things are in place, great people can see it. When they're not, they can see that too.

One more thing. When you find the right person, move. Time kills all hires. The market is too busy for great people to have their time wasted.

UNKNOWN has placed executive creative directors at some of the most respected agencies and brands in the world, including Starling, M&C Saatchi, Koto, Uncommon, Aston Martin F1, Adam & Eve DDB, BBH, JOAN and Wolff Olins. If you're starting a creative director search, talk to us first.

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