Rick D. Waters
VP of Brand & Creative | Global Creative Operations & AI Strategy
For 17 years, I’ve built the brand systems that help global companies scale. I sit at the intersection of high-level design and the logistics required to actually ship it. Whether it's managing a 50-person global department or building out AI-driven workflows in ClickUp and Figma, my goal is simple: make the creative process faster, smarter, and tied directly to revenue.
Resume
VP, Brand and Creative
ALCHEMY WORX, Inc.
AI Operations Transformation: Architected a department-wide Generative AI roadmap, transitioning 50+ global staff to AI-assisted workflows that decreased production turnaround times by 40% while maintaining premium quality standards.
Global Team Leadership: Direct a multidisciplinary creative organization across five countries (US, Mexico, India, Argentina, Philippines), fostering a culture of "Strategy & Execution" that aligns creative output with rigorous data analytics.
Revenue Generation: Spearheaded creative strategies for enterprise accounts (e.g., CDW, Full Beauty Brands), contributing to a 25% year-over-year lift in email-attributed revenue through advanced A/B testing and consumer psychology.
Remote • 2023 - Present
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Creative Director
SHAW/SCOTT, INC.
Enterprise Portfolio Management: Directed creative strategy and execution for a $10M+ portfolio, including flagship brands such as Lululemon, Alaska Airlines, and The Knot.
Operational Change Management: Restructured the collaboration model between technical engineering and creative design, reducing project friction and increasing on-time delivery rates by 15% for retail and travel sectors.
Brand Evolution: Developed high-fidelity design systems in Figma that enabled rapid scaling for global CRM campaigns, directly impacting retention rates for Fortune 500 clients.
Remote • 2022 - 2023
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Creative Director
SMARTBUG MEDIA, INC.
M&A Integration & Scaling: Led the successful creative integration of Worth E-Commerce following acquisition, scaling a high-velocity email/SMS team from 5 to 20 specialists within 12 months.
Retention & Churn Reduction: Optimized proprietary production systems that reduced client churn by 32% and boosted overall department retention by 40%.
Cross-Functional Alignment: Partnered with Sales and Client Success teams to standardize "Strategy-First" creative briefs, increasing upsell opportunities by 20%.
Remote • 2020 - 2022
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Creative Director
CHALKTALK SPORTS, INC.
Record-Breaking Growth: Orchestrated a comprehensive holiday creative strategy that resulted in the highest-grossing sales period in company history, driving a 35% increase in seasonal revenue.
Infrastructure Modernization: Migrated the creative department to an advanced project management framework (ClickUp), institutionalizing formalized training that cut administrative overhead by 20%.
Norwalk, CT • 2019 - 2020 (Covid)
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Founder & Creative Director
OMUNKY Clothing Co.
Market Entry & Brand Scaling: Founded and grew an independent apparel brand from concept to national recognition, including features on MSNBC.
Operational Ownership: Managed all facets of the business, including supply chain, digital marketing, and a profit-sharing social impact model that supported over 5,000 families nationwide.
2009 - 2021
