Executive Creative Director, AKQA Shanghai
Eric Cruz is a multi-award-winning creative leader, director, designer and educator who brings with him over 19 years of industry experience. He is a ‘hybrid creative’ who fuses design, film, moving images, digital media, music, art and technology, to bring a unique perspective to storytelling in the connected age.
As the Executive Creative Director of AKQA Shanghai, Eric leads the growing Greater China team. Through his work, he helps clients like Nike, Jordan, NBA, Johnson&Johnson, Diageo and Lycra, create the future through innovative brand storytelling.
With a broad international experience, Eric has held various leadership positions in agencies across Asia, Europe and the US, developing a creative model for the agency of the future. Prior to joining AKQA, he held the position of Executive Creative Director at Leo Burnett Malaysia, and co-founded W+K Tokyo Lab, Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo’s creative think tank and experimental music label.
To mentor the next generation of talent and ignite creative dialogue, Eric regularly delivers lectures and has taught Design, Advertising and Moving Media at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, Temple University in Tokyo, and The One Academy in Kuala Lumpur.
His work has been recognized by Tokyo ADC, Cannes Lions, ADC NY, ONE Show, D&AD, Spikes, AdFest, AdStars, The Webbys, The FWA, CSS Design Awards and the Japan Media Arts Festival.
