I studied journalism. Transitioned into television production. Then somehow stumbled into a decade of comedy performance and show producing. As one does.
 

As I advanced on my journey to show the world just how funny I am, I began to realize there were ways to put my creativity to work AND make a stable living. And so, I sought a career in advertising. Turns out the agency world was the perfect place to put all those seemingly unrelated skills to work.

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Now, I'm a creative leader who's spent the better part of two decades building brands, developing talent, and creating the conditions for remarkable work to happen.

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I've helped replatform iconic consumer brands, built systems that turn creative chaos into consistently great work, and led teams through some of the roughest advertising seas this side of Bill Bernbach's obituary. Along the way, I've developed a simple philosophy: Take care of the people, and the people will take care of the work. Funny how those two things go hand in hand.
 

Elevating creative work to stand out in an ever-distracted world? Can do. Crafting the systems that allow a team to thrive? You betcha. Developing client relationships that allow me to help them figure out and sell through what they need, not just what they ask for? That's the good stuff. Oh, and if and when I need to, diving in and doing the work, writing the copy, ideating the ideas, and selling in and making the work that makes people on LinkedIn say, "Darn that Matt Portman! Why didn't I think of that first?" Yeah, I like doing that too.
 

Ultimately, I believe great creative comes from understanding people, solving problems, not being afraid of getting a little weird with it all, and building genuine connections. Between brands and their audiences, sure. But just as importantly, between the people making the work.
 

And after a decade of performing stand-up in seedy bars for drink tickets, I still find the whole getting paid in actual money thing to be a pretty sweet perk.