Chris McKibbin on Finding Opportunity in the Chaos

We live in uncertain times. And having been promoted to chief strategy officer at Dentsu Creative UK just over a year ago, Chris McKibbin says he's spent that time leaning into this uncertainty rather than trying to smooth it away or pretend it doesn't exist. He argues that when everything feels noisy, pressured and unresolved, strategy has a clearer job to do.

McKibbin's clarity and approach perhaps stems from his earlier career choices - following Oxford University he spent stints as a teacher, and a statistician at Nielsen. Upon discovering the seminal 'Truth, Lies and Advertising' he joined JWT’s graduate scheme and quickly ascended advertising's greasy pole with roles at Adjust Your Set and Mcgarrybowen.

Since stepping into the CSO role at Dentsu Creative after four years at the firm, he’s focused on a few practical priorities: keeping the agency close to culture through ethnographic research; relaunching Dentsu Creative’s KODO accelerator to improve how ideas get made; and building a stronger effectiveness story.

In this Q&A, McKibbin talks about why uncertainty can be useful, what skills matter most for strategists now, how AI fits into the practice, and why he thinks Dentsu Creative is well placed to produce work that actually cuts through.

Creative Salon: What excites you most about the industry right now?

Chris McKinnon: The opportunities within the chaos. Strategy shines brightest when everything’s uncertain. Our clients need us more than ever to cut through the noise and lead the way forward.

And luckily I get to do that with the same things that have always excited me about the industry: solving knotty problems with big ideas, and working with inspiring people.

You were promoted to CSO at Dentsu Creative just over a year ago - what have you changed or implemented internally during that time and why? 

Three things stand out:

First, we did a wonderful ethnographic research project with the brilliant Steven Lacey of The Outsiders, about how people are dreaming small as a way to navigate the permacrisis. With everything else dominating the headlines, it’s crucial that we stay close to the lives of the people who buy the products and services we’re selling.

Second, we relaunched KODO, our creative accelerator. It started as a strategy initiative, but it’s become a way to bring all our communities together and find different ways to get to better work. I love that it gives us more opportunities to get excited by big ideas.

Third, we’re just kicking off an effectiveness drive to demonstrate the value that creativity and expansive thinking will continue to have for our clients. As we shift our model from hours to outcomes, we need to celebrate the impact we have as a business.

How did you get started in the industry? 

I took a scenic path. I’d been a teacher and a statistician before reading Truth, Lies, and Advertising and realising strategy was the job for me. I applied to JWT’s grad scheme, and here I am. Those false starts remind me how ridiculous it is we get to do what we do.

What are the main skills you think a modern CSO needs to succeed? 

Vision, resilience, optimism, imagination, clarity, courage, and, frankly, giving a shit about the work and the people, all feel pretty timeless. But I think cultural literacy, having an eye for where brands can play in and create culture, will become increasingly important in building fame and surfacing brands in the future. Happily, we have an incredible strategy team full of culture mavens here at DC.

What is your main aim or ambition at Dentsu Creative UK as its CSO?

To help the agency fulfil its potential. Pitching through last year really showed me what DC is capable of, now I want everyone to know. The blend of skills we have here make us uniquely positioned to help brands build for what’s next – whatever shape that takes. So this year, we have to create some truly remarkable signature work that gets people talking.

How are you utilising the potential of AI in your role and across the strategy team? 

Like everyone, to spend less time on tedious, repetitive tasks, and more time exploring, provoking, and sparring. It’s a tool to rebalance our time towards more important parts of strategy. But at Dentsu we have a range of AI tools for specific tasks – like pre-testing and optimising work, for example. I’m really interested in how we shift the practice of AI from an efficiency tool to an effectiveness one, that can help us grow and have more valuable consultancy-level conversations with clients.

Why is AI a tool that strategists especially get excited about? 

Because we’re a curious bunch, intrigued by the new and untested. To get more specific – and philosophical (bear with me) – AI poses fascinating questions about what we do: if it can synthesise, pattern-spot, and pressure-test faster than any of us, what’s the value of humanity and taste and imagination? We’re finding out in real time, and best-case scenario, we all level up. But also, because when we’re under more intense time pressure than ever before, we’ll take any help we can get.

Which campaign are you particularly proud to have been involved with in your career? 

I’m incredibly proud of the breadth and ambition of work our team has put out in the last year – from the first ever brand and demand campaign for Amex, to redesigning Waitrose’s beloved Food magazine, to launching Sour Patch Kids in the UK.

But I’m motivated by the belief that the next campaign could be bigger and better than anything I’ve done before. I’m directly involved with projects for our amazing clients at Hilton, the NFL, and Mamas & Papas right now, so I’ve got a good feeling about 2026.

If advertising never existed - is there an alternative job or career that you would have liked to have taken up? Why? 

The dream was always to be a musician. But I doubt playing mediocre jazz pays the bills, even in an alternate universe without advertising. So I’ll say detective. It’s human behaviour, it’s using your little grey cells, it’s creative leaps, it gets results. Like planning, but more grisly. Where’s my badge and my gun?