Dave Sonderman joins The Shipyard as chief creative officer

The Shipyard appointed David Sonderman to the role of chief creative officer. He joins the company from GSW Advertising as the latest in a string of recent hires designed to deliver on The Shipyard’s promise of becoming the world’s first marketing engineering agency.

“We are thrilled to be able to leverage Dave’s creative storytelling capabilities and his track record of delivering value for the world’s top brands,” notes Rick Milenthal, CEO of The Shipyard.

Sonderman’s previous experience includes work on brands such as Apple, HP, PGA Tours, Victoria’s Secret, BMW Financial Services, GE Healthcare, Amgen, Eli Lilly, Frisch’s Big Boy, and Listerine. Sonderman’s work has been recognized by Clio, National ADDY, NY Festivals, Emmy and Cannes Lions.

According to The Shipyard’s Chief Operation Officer Todd Cameron, “Science and technology have always been passionate subjects and terrific outlets for Dave’s creativity. We are confident that he will bring the same level of talent, ingenuity and creative expression to his new role.”

Sonderman has brought his knack for insight-driven creative problem to a distinguished advertising career spanning 25 years and work across disciplines from higher education and retail, to technology and lifestyle, to healthcare and social causes. Sonderman presented at the 2016 Lions Festival of Creativity in Cannes, joining forces with an experimental VR filmmaker from London and a psychiatrist from Harvard to expound on the art and science of empathy in creativity. His award-winning creative includes memorable campaigns for Stryker’s knee replacement system and The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to help shape creativity’s relationship with data science and to challenge old assumptions,” Sonderman says. “The Shipyard’s  backbone of creative data science modeling, insights and media is already proven – it’s what so many other agencies are trying to figure out.”

A leading, independent marketing consultancy, The Shipyard is the world’s first “marketing engineering” agency. The company was founded during 2013 by Milenthal, an industry veteran who was CEO of the leading national digital agency Engauge, now a part of Publicis Groupe; and marketing technology pioneer Ben Clarke, who was CEO of People To My Site.