About me.

Welcome to the site.

I’m a builder of advertising agencies and careers. Over the years, I was a key component of three separate companies that not only grew to significance, but also developed future agency and creative leaders that have made an impact.

I’ve worked at prestigious agencies like ClarkeGowardFitts, Arnold Worldwide, and Hill Holliday. I’ve also held key ownership positions at several agencies that enabled me to learn the business of advertising. I gained an understanding of the challenges of rapid growth, building effective teams, and managing the personalities of talent, teams, and clients. I played a pivotal leadership role in building Allen & Gerritsen, which grew from 6 people to 145 during my tenure and developed a respected creative reputation. At Precision Effect a small medical devices agency that had been around for 20 years, that grew from 40 people to over 200 with offices around the world. In addition, I had the experience of starting my own shop called KSV/Boston-Avenue Brand. My small agency may have only been 20 people, but it held its own with the big agencies in pitches and award shows alike.

Over the years I’ve been recognized by The One Show (two silver pencils), Clio, New York Art Directors, Effie, Telly, The Kelly Awards, MM&M Awards (Healthcare), and Hatch. I was named an AdWeek Creative All-Star. I was named one of The Hatch Top 100 Creatives of the 20th Century. My work has been featured in Communication Arts, Archive Magazine and Print Magazine.

I’ve taught many creative concept classes through the AdClub. I’ve been asked to speak about advertising and design at Fidelity in-house, Staples in-house, Boston University, and Emerson College. I was the Chairman of the New England Hatch Awards, and have served as a board member for the AdClub of New England.

As much as I love creating, I love creating the people who make creativity their life’s work.

Thanks for hearing my story,

Doug