Laura Fegley, executive creative director, Colle+McVoy
Laura Fegley, a New York ad agency veteran with Midwestern roots, has joined Minneapolis' Colle+McVoy as executive creative director.
Fegley oversees the creative department with Mike Caguin, Colle+McVoy's chief creative officer, and manages key global accounts and contributes to business development.
"My goal for the creative department but also for everybody in the agency is to look forward to coming into the office every day," Fegley said. "That just boils down to, 'I made something that I want to put on my metaphorical refrigerator at the end of the day.' "
Fegley most recently was executive creative director at BBH, capping two decades of experience with creative agencies in New York. She oversaw work for brands including Vaseline, Graco, Calphalon, Rubbermaid and the Guardian while helping to build a gender-balanced creative department at BBH.
She previously held creative director roles at JWT and Cliff Freeman and Partners. Business Insider recognized Fegley as one of "The Most Creative Women in Advertising."
"I love taking the brands that aren't seen as the sexiest things and doing exciting, sexy work for them," Fegley said.
Fegley, describing herself as a "recovering New Yorker or relapsed Midwesterner," recalled a failed bid to land a job at Minneapolis' renowned Fallon agency after earning a degree in English at Bowling Green State University. She broke into the industry in New York after going to "advertising trade school" at the Portfolio Center in Atlanta.
Q: What are your early ideas about the "next agency"?
A: It's all those things that are great and easy to throw out, being agile and nimble. But what goes into those is a lot more complicated. It's getting back to remembering what we do is make great ideas for our client and how do we do that faster?
Q: What lessons have you learned on the strategy and business side of an agency?
A: Act on your instincts. But listen enough to be willing to have your instincts pivot. You have to have a pretty strong point of view when you're working on brands about what's right for them. But you need to keep your ears open enough that you can evolve that instinct.
Q: What's your leadership style?
A: I'm pretty good at making decisions and usually have a pretty clear vision. People like knowing that you've got the confidence in them that they can bring something great to you. I've been lucky enough to work with really strong creative departments and everything I see right now, they've got it here. Everybody can bring it.
Todd Nelson