The title Chief Creative Officer (CCO) typically describes the highest-ranking position of a creative team within a media company. Depending on the type of company, this position may be responsible for the overall look and feel of
marketing
Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce.
Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...
,
media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Interactive media, media that is inter ...
, and
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...
ing associated with the organization. The CCO may also be charged with managing, developing, and leading one or multiple teams of
creative director
A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...
s,
art director
Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...
s,
designer
A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...
s, and
copywriter
Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. Copywriting is aimed at selling products or services. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to incre ...
s. They may also have charge over long-term planning related to
intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
owned by the company, as in the case of
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
/
Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...
,
DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
/
DC Studios
DC Studios is an American film and television production company that is a division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). It is responsible for the production of live-action and animated films and television series, as well as video games, based ...
, or the
WWE.
Overall description
The CCO directs a company's creative strategy and output that drives and defines a company's brand. A CCO is often heavily involved in development cycles for consumer-facing media products, such as films, TV, or videogames. The CCO helps to craft creative decision-making and work processes to optimize for quality and consumer satisfaction. They may also serve as the primary internal champion for the needs of both creative teams and the products themselves, as opposed to other competing business interests.
[Written By: Terry Masters, Edited By: Allegra J. Ling]
"What Does a Chief Creative Officer Do"
14 October 2014, Retrieved on 30 October 2014
Notable chief creative officers
*
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa of
Archie Comics
Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jug ...
*
Jessica Alba
Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her acting career at age 13 in ''Camp Nowhere'', followed up by ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (both 1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 as ...
of
The Honest Company
*
Jens Bergensten
Jens Peder Bergensten (born 18 May 1979), known professionally as Jeb, is a Swedish video game programmer and designer. He is best known as the lead designer of ''Minecraft'', and is the chief creative officer of Mojang Studios. In 2013, he, a ...
of
Mojang Studios
Mojang AB, trading as Mojang Studios, is a Swedish video game developer based in Stockholm. A first-party developer for Xbox Game Studios, the studio is best known for developing the sandbox and survival game ''Minecraft'', the best-selli ...
(developer of
Minecraft
''Minecraft'' is a 2011 sandbox game developed and published by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. Originally created by Markus Persson, Markus "Notch" Persson using the Java (programming language), Java programming language, the ...
)
*
Hailey Bieber of
Rhode
*
Burnie Burns of
Rooster Teeth Productions
*
Nick Cannon
Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American comedian, television presenter, actor, and rapper. In television, he began his career as a teenager on Nickelodeon's '' All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', '' ...
of
Radio Shack
RadioShack (formerly written as Radio Shack) is an American electronics retailer that was established in 1921 as an amateur radio mail-order business. Its parent company was purchased by Tandy Corporation in 1962, which shifted its focus from ma ...
*
Wong Cho-lam of
TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...
*
Clive Davis
Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000.
From 1967 to 1 ...
of
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
*
Pete Docter
Peter Hans Docter (born October 9, 1968) is an American filmmaker and animator, who has served as chief creative officer (CCO) of Pixar since 2018. He has directed the company's animated films ''Monsters, Inc.'' (2001), ''Up (2009 film), Up'' ( ...
of
Pixar
Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...
(after
Lasseter left in 2017)
*
Jeremy Elbertson of
Offbrand
*
Kevin Feige
Kevin Feige ( ; born June 2, 1973) is an American film and television producer. He has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a co ...
of
Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and Marvel Enterprises, Inc.) was an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, formed by the merger of #Marvel Entertainment Group, Marvel Ente ...
*
Sarah Michelle Gellar of
Foodstirs
*
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the ''Playboy ...
of
Playboy Enterprises
*
Alan Horn of
Walt Disney Studios
*
Tony Khan of
All Elite Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
*
Jared Bush
Jared Bush (born June 12, 1974) is an American filmmaker, who has served as the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios since 2024. He is best known for co-writing and co-directing the company's animated films '' Zootopia'' (201 ...
of
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...
[Jim Lee
Jim Lee (; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief creative officer, Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work ...]