Josh Hays

(207) 650-1471  ·  joshhays@gmail.com  ·  linkedin.com/in/joshwehays  ·  joshhays.com

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Creative Director  |  Brand Strategy & Creative Leadership
Brand creative leader with 16 years of experience across agency and in-house roles, directing visual identity systems, content strategy, and campaign execution for Fortune 200 companies, growth-stage brands, and multi-client agency accounts. 11 years leading creative teams (up to 12 direct reports), owning full creative pipelines, and delivered results with staying power — including a global brand identity system for a 30,000-person company post-merger that remains in active use. Equally fluent in brand strategy and hands-on execution — the player/coach creative growing brands need.

Work Experience

Shipley Donuts Houston, TX
Creative Services Manager March 2025 – Present
  • Designed and launched a franchise marketing system — brand guidelines, templates, campaign assets, and LTO/promotional materials — adopted system-wide across 180 locations, replacing ad hoc local execution
  • Directed a brand refresh — positioning, logo refinements, color palette, photography standards, and collateral templates — establishing consistent brand standards distributed across 180 franchisees
  • Drove a digital-first creative strategy that consolidated outdated assets and reduced redundancy, delivering $125K in annual savings system-wide
  • Led the majority of 2026 seasonal pre-set box launches: the Valentine's box drove the single highest sales day in company history, the Fourth of July box delivered a 4% lift during the slowest sales months, and the St. Patrick's box added a new LTO to the calendar; now leading Halloween and Holiday
Waste Management Houston, TX
Video Production Manager October 2019 – April 2023
  • Sole creative leader in the communications department; built enterprise video strategy from scratch and rolled it out across an 80-person area communications team
  • Created a monthly Spanish-language video series for the ~40% of frontline employees who are native Spanish speakers; the series continued running after my departure
  • Drove a 62% increase in awareness of company values in year one through a metrics-backed internal storytelling program
  • Managed $100K production budget; streamlined workflows and reduced redundancies across a Fortune 200 communications function
McDermott International Houston, TX
Creative Production Manager July 2018 – October 2019
  • Led a 4-person design team through a full brand identity system — logo, color system, visual design language — for a 30,000-person global company operating across six continents (including MENA, Southeast Asia, and Europe) following the CB&I / McDermott merger; identity system remains in active use today
  • Reduced rebrand timeline by 3 months; structured approval processes cut rush projects 32% and improved turnaround 20% within six months
  • Established a centralized CMS, eliminating redundant design efforts and saving the team 15 hours per week
Cosmos Communications (Integrated Marketing Agency) New York City, NY
Head of Photography and Video  +  Marketing Projects Manager 2014 – 2018
  • Agency creative and account lead across a multi-client portfolio exceeding $1M, spanning auction house, real estate, and healthcare clients — Swann Auction Gallery, Kestenbaum & Company, Cushman Wakefield, and New York Presbyterian Hospitals
  • Built and led a photography and video service line inside the agency, managing up to 3 production crews simultaneously; served as primary account lead for Swann Auction Gallery and Kestenbaum & Company — won back Kestenbaum's business ($150K annual account)
  • Worked within the agency's proprietary marketing technology platform to deliver integrated print-to-digital campaigns for enterprise clients
Freelance Creative & Consulting New York City & Houston
Cinematographer / Camera Operator / Editor 2009 – Present
  • Camera department on studio, network, and independent productions: Edge of Darkness, Broad City (camera assistant), Odd Mom Out, Fair Haven; camera operator for MTV, Nike, and Wendy's
  • Additional clients: Swiss Consulate, History Channel, Education First
  • Consulting: Teachers College, Columbia University — produced learning materials and program documentation for international education initiatives in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Colombia

Skills

Adobe Creative Suite  ·  DaVinci Resolve  ·  Figma  ·  Workfront  ·  Asana  ·  Google Suite  ·  Microsoft Office  ·  AI-based design and content tools  ·  Brand Identity Systems  ·  Visual Storytelling  ·  Content Strategy  ·  Cross-Functional Collaboration

Education

Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Film
Boston University  ·  2009
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Liberal Arts
Sarah Lawrence College  ·  2004