Over the past decade I’ve launched and scaled strategy functions inside fast-moving global media companies — driving double-digit growth by establishing departments where culture is the default operating system, story-led platforms are the engine, and success is measured in long-term brand relevance for the world’s biggest advertisers.
When I’m not leading high-performing, award-winning teams, I write Carb Load — a newsletter covering cultural analysis, industry hot takes, and conversations with other creatives, inspired by the idea that good strategy is a lot like endurance sport: a deeply rewarding pursuit — as long as you can tolerate the occasional suffering.
"Brendan has a way of blowing me away with strong and thoughtful ideas. He’s a creative leader, a thinker, and always accountable to his internal partners. I was lucky enough to work with him and know you will feel the same."
HSBC needed to reposition itself globally, speaking to a new breed of internationally mobile creators, founders and entreprenuers.
Impact
Challenge
The platform delivered exceptional audience attention across all markets, with brand tracking showing a +25% uplift in purchase intent. This impact translated into a fundamental shift in HSBC’s brand health framework — including a 100% increase in recommendability — rewiring how the bank resonates with internationally mobile founders, creators and entrepreneurs.
Strategy
Today’s emerging business leaders move through the world differently. Business media hasn’t kept pace.
The opportunity was to rethink how business intelligence appears in culture — moving beyond traditional reporting to create a dynamic content system built for a globally mobile audience.
Grounded in deep audience and cultural research, the platform identified the economic, technological and cultural forces shaping modern markets — translating them into clear, story-led narratives designed for moments of movement: commutes, travel and in-between time.
This insight informed a suite of distinct editorial series, each with its own visual language and intellectual territory. Distributed across a coordinated ecosystem of formats and channels, the system delivered sharp, portable intelligence to globally curious operators wherever they encountered content.
The result positioned HSBC not simply as a financial institution, but as a platform for global ambition — connecting the brand with a new generation of internationally minded founders and business leaders.
Awards
I’ve spent a lot of my career in rooms with agencies, brands and teams — running workshops at the intersection of culture, media and technology.
Beyond those sessions, I’m a regular keynote speaker at industry events, with recent talks covering everything from AI to unpredictability in the creative process, and why optimism drives more effective work.
My work has featured in resources like The Recess Creative Playbook alongside Trevor Robinson OBE, and been quoted in Campaign.
"One of our missions has been to create genuine, inspiring and cutting-edge thought leadership events with leaders at the forefront of creativity and impact — and Brendan’s talks always deliver on that front. He is by far one of the best speakers and leaders we’ve had in our space."
