My real name is Ravinder Verdi but I’ve always been known as Monty.
Verdi is a Sikh surname but my family spell it the Italian way instead of Virdee.
And it’s a long story as to why I’m called Monty.
An integrated Creative Director with over 25 years experience.
Creative Directed brands at a global level, headed up an entire Design department and been ECD for Content & Social at two agencies.
Shortlisted for the inaugural ‘iList’, the IPA’s initiative to celebrate the industry’s inclusivity game-changers.
Experience
The simplest way to sum up all my experience is a diagram with 3 circles.
One circle for creating global brand campaigns as a Creative Director.
One circle for Craft, from my Head of Art role.
One circle for my ECD roles at Content & Social agencies.
And I sit in the middle, able to look at things from all 3.
‘Vermont’ Etsy Store
Everyone’s got a side hustle right? Mine is running at Etsy store selling Digital Art Prints, specialising in posters aimed at an Asian audience. It always amazes me how little creative and content is created for Asian people so I created my own and I sell them all over the world, from here in the UK to Australia, and from the USA to India.
Work History
Creative Director - McLaren, Canon, Shell
ECD - Content & Social
ECD for Content & Social at the VCCP Partnership.
Global ECD for Shell (Helix, V Power, Energy, Fleet, Aviation)
Creative Director for McLaren Automotive
Creative Director for Canon
Executive Creative Director - Content & Social
DRUM are the content and creative for the entire Omnicom Media Group.
They help brands create their own cultural signals – whether science documentaries, cooking programmes, music videos or entertainment formats; things with real value for people that cut through the clutter.
Creative Director
Creative Director on Lexus, responsible for global brand campaigns working with the client team based in Tokyo.
Creative Director on Lexus Europe, responsible for EMEA campaigns for TV, Print, OOH, Mobile and Experiential working with the client team based in Brussels.
Creative Director on TalkTalk creating brand TV work and X Factor Sponsorship Apps.
Creative Director on Samsung creating global campaigns for Televisions.
Creative Director on Argos creating the 'Aliens' brand campaign.
Creative Director on The Times and Sunday Times.
Creative Director on Vertu.
Head of Art & Design
Overseeing the art direction and design of the agency's visual output including all photography, illustration and graphic design, as well as the day to day running of the design team.
Creative Director
Creative Director on Kelloggs as well as working across all the agency's brands including McDonald's, COI, Miller Genuine Draft, BlackBerry and Dept for Transport.
Freelance Creative
Freelance Creative at Wieden & Kennedy London, St Luke's and Farm. Creative Director at Guerilla Agency The Fish Can Sing, Freelance Creative at The Fink Tank and winner of Graham's Fink's $10,000 Global Logo Competition.
Mitchell Patterson Grime Mitchell
Art Director working on all the agency's clients including Twinings, Royal Caribbean & Celebrity Cruises, Bordeaux Wines, Sacla, Patak's, Sodastream and Raleigh.