Awaiting Approval

Kevin Parry – Stop-Motion Animator & Video Wizard (Clients include Disney, Laika and more) From hand-drawn frames to viral visual illusions, Kevin Parry has carved a unique path from the stop-motion stages of Laika to the scroll-stopping magic of social media. In this episode, Kevin reflects on learning animation with pencil and paper, creating one-to-two seconds of footage a day on features like...

Jane Cook - Product Experience Design Leader (ex-Uswitch, Global Media, Visa Europe, Vodafone, Dell Technologies, Hasbro, Mattel) From designing Barbie dolls in Milan to leading design teams across fintech, healthtech, and global consumer brands, Jane Cook brings heart, grit, and clarity to every stage of her creative leadership journey. In this episode, Jane shares how an early career in industri...

Bill Snebold – Creative Director & Entertainment Industry Specialist (Former design leader at Paramount Pictures and Disney; clients include Disney, The CW Network, and PBS) From specifying typographic details for actor resumés in a Hollywood attic to designing marketing materials for Titanic and Mission: Impossible , Bill Snebold has been at the forefront of media innovation. In this episode, Bil...

Rashmi Lopez - Creative Director & Founder (ex-CareRev, Genius Sports, MediaTemple, IGN) From gaming and beauty to healthcare and tech, Rashmi Lopez has led design across some of the most unexpected corners of the creative industry. Her journey? Anything but linear. In this episode, Rashmi opens up about surviving multiple layoffs, chasing community over titles, and why every sketchbook should be...

Dave Zaboski - Artist & Former Animator at Disney, Warner Bros. and Sony ( Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Fantasia 2000 ) From animating some of the most iconic films of all time to painting for the Dalai Lama and co-founding a tech startup, Dave Zaboski has spent a lifetime turning thoughts into things - and teaching others to do the same. In this episode, Dave reflects...

Laura Baker - Managing Director at Fearless (Founding member of FIFTY, ex-industrial designer) From Post-It notes in the dark to leading one of the most respected design consultancies in the UK, Laura Baker’s path into leadership was anything but planned. In this episode, Laura shares how an unexpected client decision thrust her into leadership, how a gut-punch moment around burnout reshaped how s...

Stan Reimgen - Co-Founder at Big (ex-Commerzbank, Zalando, Microsoft, Tomorrow Bank) From launching mobile banking for 1.5 million customers at Commerzbank to building sustainable innovation with pioneers like Zalando, Microsoft, and Tomorrow Bank, Stan Reimgen’s journey is a masterclass in purpose-driven design leadership. In this conversation, we explore his shift from business school to hands-o...

S1. E2. : Charmaine Wyland – User Focused Design Leader, (Ex-Gumtree, Just Eat, Expedia, SapientRazorfish) From e-learning in Dublin to redesigning legacy media platforms and leading massive digital transformations for big brands in both the USA and UK, Charmaine Wyland’s creative leadership journey is anything but linear - and all the better for it. In this episode, Charmaine reflects on her serp...

S1 E1 : Kevin Frank - Creative Leader (ex-Apple, LinkedIn) and Author of Raising Creative Teams Kevin Frank has spent three decades leading creative at some of the world’s most iconic brands, from launching global campaigns at Apple to redefining brand and culture at LinkedIn. Along the way, he’s earned recognition from Cannes, D&AD, and AdAge’s In-House Agency of the Year and Best Places to Work...

For the last 30 years, I’ve led creative teams across every discipline. One thing’s always been true - the most interesting conversations happen with creative people. So I started recording them. Awaiting Approval is a podcast about the messy, human side of creative leadership. And Season One is packed with the kinds of guests I wish I’d had access to when I was starting out. From Apple, Microsoft...

This is a new podcast where I sit down with seasoned leaders from across the creative industries to talk honestly about the work, the lessons, and the leadership moments that shaped them. The episodes are real, unfiltered, and always end with the same simple question. How each guest interprets that question? That’s up to them! And you’ll need to subscribe to find out what the question is. This tra...