Company appoints inaugural Chief Creative Officer, Chris May in position of prominence within elephant-related endeavors
In a significant move to strengthen its creative capabilities, IPG's creative agency Elephant has promoted Chris May to the newly created position of Chief Creative Officer (CCO). May, a founding member of Elephant, has been instrumental in the agency's success and will now oversee the creative vision for the agency, not just a specific region.
May's new role will see him managing creative work for multiple clients, including Comcast, Electronic Arts, Marc Jacobs, Realtor.com, and Elephant's founding client, Apple. He will be responsible for establishing the creative vision for the agency and managing creative across both coasts, helping define the creative direction for Elephant. The promotion is effective immediately.
The creative department at Elephant will continue to be structured with Executive Creative Directors (ECDs) overseeing each region, East and West. However, May's role will be to coordinate and unify the creative vision across both coasts, ensuring a cohesive and consistent approach to creative work.
May's appointment as CCO is a testament to his significant contributions and leadership at Elephant. His role will also involve attracting and retaining top creatives and diverse talent to further elevate Elephant's creative output.
The creative industry is facing significant challenges, particularly in the area of creativity-driven revenue. IPG, Elephant's parent company, has been focusing heavily on integration and synergies post-merger, with substantial investments aimed at centralizing operations and leveraging technology, particularly AI, to boost productivity across the agency network.
In this context, it is reasonable to infer that Chris May’s creative vision and strategy for Elephant likely emphasize a blend of human creativity with innovative technology tools, including AI, to re-energize the agency’s output and client value. This approach would aim to combat current revenue challenges by pushing creative excellence while integrating data-driven insights and technological enhancements to elevate campaign effectiveness.
May will report directly to Elephant CEO Eric Moore, who expressed his excitement about the appointment, saying, "Chris has been a driving force behind Elephant's success, and I am confident that his leadership will take our creative output to new heights."
With Chris May at the helm as CCO, Elephant is poised to continue its trajectory of creative excellence and innovation in the ever-evolving advertising landscape.
[1] IPG Focuses on Integration and Synergies Post-Merger (2025). AdWeek. Retrieved from [https://www.adweek.com/agencies/ipg-focuses-on-integration-and-synergies-post-merger/]
- In his new role as Chief Creative Officer (CCO) at Elephant, Chris May will be responsible for creating a creative vision that integrates human creativity with innovative technology tools such as AI, aiming to combat current revenue challenges by pushing creative excellence while integrating data-driven insights and technological enhancements.
- As the head of Elephant, May will manage creative work for multiple high-profile clients such as Comcast, Electronic Arts, Marc Jacobs, Realtor.com, and Apple, and will focus on attracting and retaining top creatives and diverse talent to further elevate the agency's creative output.
