Awaiting Approval

Jason Giles - VP of Product Design at UserTesting (ex-Ticketmaster, AT&T, Microsoft)From laying carpets by day and playing synths by night to becoming a VP of Product Design at UserTesting, Jason Giles’ journey is anything but conventional.In this episode, we dive into his early struggles with imposter syndrome, how a supportive culture at Microsoft helped him rise, and why he believes some of the best design leaders come from the most non-traditional paths. Jason reflects on leadership as an act of service, what it means to be truly people-first, and how a chance encounter in a UK office reshaped his understanding of company culture. Now leading teams at UserTesting, he shares the lessons learned from building products with empathy, fighting for inclusion, and always staying just uncomfortable enough to grow.You can connect with Jason on LinkedIn hereThis is Awaiting Approval. A podcast about the messy, human side of creative leadership.Hosted by Adam Jennings - a creative leader with three decades of experience leading teams and projects for global brands including Microsoft, Salesforce, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Ancestry, Dolby, BBC and many more - this show features honest, unscripted conversations with the leaders shaping design, storytelling, and innovation today.These are the conversations you don’t hear in keynotes. The ones about imposter syndrome, trust, failure, confidence, and finding your voice as a leader.Whether you’re just stepping into creative leadership or you’ve been at it for years, Awaiting Approval is your place to feel seen, challenged, and encouraged.Awaiting Approval is a Cordial Fox production.Hosted by Adam JenningsProduced by Adam Jennings & Jasmin Egner© Cordial Fox Limited, 2025.Ready to level up your leadership with real, honest support?Join the next cohort of Supercharged Creative Leaders - my flagship four-week programme for creative leaders who want clarity, confidence, and a community that gets it.✅ Small groups (just 6 per cohort)✅ Weekly live sessions with me and your cohort✅ Async access to me and your cohort via a private Slack community✅ Invitation to join my alumni community once you’ve completed the programme.Previous attendees have gone on to win major pitches, land new roles, get promoted and step into leadership with more purpose and presence.🚀 Learn more and apply here Get full access to Grow With Adam Jennings at growwithadamjennings.substack.com/subscribe

Join Dr. Chris Arnold, a pioneer in ethical marketing and neurodiversity advocate, as he uncovers how ADHD and dyslexia became his superpowers. He shares tales from Saatchi & Saatchi, revealing the art of persuading clients to embrace bravery over fear. Expect a lively discussion on the importance of creativity in leadership, innovative marketing strategies, and the decline of originality in digital media. With anecdotes about 21-foot condoms and glue-based billboards, Arnold delivers a powerful message to challenge mediocrity and embrace unique perspectives.

Lou Maxon - ECD at Maxon House (Acer, BMW, McDonald's, Lego, Lexus, Sothebys, etc)From crafting editorial layouts at Time Out New York to building immersive brand experiences for global giants, Lou Maxon’s career is rooted in curiosity, craft, and storytelling.In this conversation, Lou shares what it’s like to lead from a forest-bound studio on rails, why authenticity beats scale, and how his work has helped shape everything from sippy cup startups to sustainability campaigns. We talk about career pivots, design culture, the death of craft, and why the best creative leaders are more like conductors than commanders. This one’s a journey worth taking.You can connect with Lou hereThis is Awaiting Approval. A podcast about the messy, human side of creative leadership.Hosted by Adam Jennings - a creative leader with three decades of experience leading teams and projects for global brands including Microsoft, Salesforce, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Ancestry, Dolby, BBC and many more - this show features honest, unscripted conversations with the leaders shaping design, storytelling, and innovation today.These are the conversations you don’t hear in keynotes. The ones about imposter syndrome, trust, failure, confidence, and finding your voice as a leader.Whether you’re just stepping into creative leadership or you’ve been at it for years, Awaiting Approval is your place to feel seen, challenged, and encouraged.Awaiting Approval is a Cordial Fox production.Hosted by Adam JenningsProduced by Adam Jennings & Jasmin Egner© Cordial Fox Limited, 2025.Ready to level up your leadership with real, honest support?Join the next cohort of Supercharged Creative Leaders - my flagship four-week programme for creative leaders who want clarity, confidence, and a community that gets it.✅ Small groups (just 6 per cohort)✅ Weekly live sessions with me and your cohort✅ Async access to me and your cohort via a private Slack community✅ Invitation to join my alumni community once you’ve completed the programme.Previous attendees have gone on to win major pitches, land new roles, get promoted and step into leadership with more purpose and presence.🚀 Learn more and apply here Get full access to Grow With Adam Jennings at growwithadamjennings.substack.com/subscribe

Kevin Parry – Stop-Motion Animator & Video Wizard (Clients include Disney, Laika and more)From hand-drawn frames to viral visual illusions, Kevin Parry has carved a unique path from the stop-motion stages of Laika to the scroll-stopping magic of social media.In this episode, Kevin reflects on learning animation with pencil and paper, creating one-to-two seconds of footage a day on features like Kubo and the Two Strings, and the rigging ingenuity that makes stop-motion breathe. We explore his early lessons in CG, the creative joy (and isolation) of working solo, and the moment he knew he had to call a redo on a weeks-long shot. Kevin shares his thoughts on AI-generated content, why clarity and wonder matter most, and what becoming a father taught him about creative success.You can connect with Kevin on LinkedIn here He’s also on Substack : Kevin Parry This is Awaiting Approval. A podcast about the messy, human side of creative leadership.Hosted by Adam Jennings - a creative leader with three decades of experience leading teams and projects for global brands including Microsoft, Salesforce, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Ancestry, Dolby, BBC and many more - this show features honest, unscripted conversations with the leaders shaping design, storytelling, and innovation today.These are the conversations you don’t hear in keynotes. The ones about imposter syndrome, trust, failure, confidence, and finding your voice as a leader.Whether you’re just stepping into creative leadership or you’ve been at it for years, Awaiting Approval is your place to feel seen, challenged, and encouraged.Awaiting Approval is a Cordial Fox production.Hosted by Adam JenningsProduced by Adam Jennings & Jasmin Egner© Cordial Fox Limited, 2025.Ready to level up your leadership with real, honest support?Join the next cohort of Supercharged Creative Leaders - my flagship four-week programme for creative leaders who want clarity, confidence, and a community that gets it.✅ Small groups (just 6 per cohort)✅ Weekly live sessions with me and your cohort✅ Async access to me and your cohort via a private Slack community✅ Invitation to join my alumni community once you’ve completed the programme.Previous attendees have gone on to win major pitches, land new roles, get promoted and step into leadership with more purpose and presence.🚀 Learn more and apply here Get full access to Grow With Adam Jennings at growwithadamjennings.substack.com/subscribe

In this engaging conversation, Jane Cook, a seasoned Product Experience Design Leader with experience at Visa Europe and Hasbro, shares her creative journey from designing Barbie dolls to leading teams in diverse industries. She discusses the importance of mentorship over mere pixels, and how traditional practices like scribbling on walls fuel her creativity. The dialogue covers the evolution of design operations, the significance of inclusivity, and the pressures of leadership. Jane emphasizes a people-first approach and the need to nurture creativity within a demanding system.

Bill Snebold – Creative Director & Entertainment Industry Specialist (Former design leader at Paramount Pictures and Disney; clients include Disney, The CW Network, and PBS)From specifying typographic details for actor resumés in a Hollywood attic to designing marketing materials for Titanic and Mission: Impossible, Bill Snebold has been at the forefront of media innovation.In this episode, Bill traces a career that began with X‑Acto knives and paste‑up boards and evolved into award‑winning digital campaigns, websites, and packaging for some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises. He reveals how an insatiable curiosity led him to pioneer design in Flash, the early web, iPhone apps, and now AI - while keeping storytelling and client goals as his true north.Join us for behind‑the‑scenes lessons on leaping from analog to digital, designing under pressure, giving clients what they really want, and accepting that even the brightest ideas sometimes end up on the cutting‑room floor.You can connect with Bill on LinkedIn hereThis is Awaiting Approval. A podcast about the messy, human side of creative leadership.Hosted by Adam Jennings - a creative leader with three decades of experience leading teams and projects for global brands including Microsoft, Salesforce, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Ancestry, Dolby, BBC and many more - this show features honest, unscripted conversations with the leaders shaping design, storytelling, and innovation today.These are the conversations you don’t hear in keynotes. The ones about imposter syndrome, trust, failure, confidence, and finding your voice as a leader.Whether you’re just stepping into creative leadership or you’ve been at it for years, Awaiting Approval is your place to feel seen, challenged, and encouraged.Awaiting Approval is a Cordial Fox production.Hosted by Adam JenningsProduced by Adam Jennings & Jasmin Egner© Cordial Fox Limited, 2025.Ready to level up your leadership with real, honest support?Join the next cohort of Supercharged Creative Leaders - my flagship four-week programme for creative leaders who want clarity, confidence, and a community that gets it.✅ Small groups (just 6 per cohort)✅ Weekly live sessions with me and your cohort✅ Async access to me and your cohort via a private Slack community✅ Invitation to join my alumni community once you’ve completed the programme.Previous attendees have gone on to win major pitches, land new roles, get promoted and step into leadership with more purpose and presence.🚀 Learn more and apply here Get full access to Grow With Adam Jennings at growwithadamjennings.substack.com/subscribe

Rashmi Lopez, a dynamic Creative Director and Founder, has navigated diverse industries from gaming to healthcare. She candidly shares her journey through multiple layoffs and emphasizes the importance of community over titles. Rashmi champions messy creativity, advocating for sketchbooks that embrace spontaneity. She dives into the significance of designing with purpose, the balance between creativity and business, and how we're redefining leadership in the age of AI, encouraging a hopeful return to storytelling and connection.

Dave Zaboski, a former Disney animator behind classics like The Lion King, shares his artistic journey and insights on creative leadership. He discusses the importance of emotional intelligence and collaboration, inspired by Disney’s 'plussing' concept. Zaboski emphasizes that genuine care fosters successful creative outcomes and warns against the perils of AI overshadowing human intention in art. He reflects on leaving Disney for a deeper calling, highlighting how personal values influence creative paths and relationships.

Laura Baker - Managing Director at Fearless (Founding member of FIFTY, ex-industrial designer)From Post-It notes in the dark to leading one of the most respected design consultancies in the UK, Laura Baker’s path into leadership was anything but planned.In this episode, Laura shares how an unexpected client decision thrust her into leadership, how a gut-punch moment around burnout reshaped how she leads, and why she believes legacy is about leaving things better than you found them. We talk about building trust, reframing value when you’re no longer “doing the work,” and the quiet power of step-by-step leadership. Laura also offers a thoughtful take on where the creative industry is heading, why she’s not scared of AI, and the real skills designers should be doubling down on right now.You can connect with Laura on LinkedIn hereThis is Awaiting Approval. A podcast about the messy, human side of creative leadership.Hosted by Adam Jennings - a creative director with three decades of experience leading teams and projects for global brands including Microsoft, Salesforce, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Ancestry, Dolby, BBC and many more - this show features honest, unscripted conversations with the leaders shaping design, storytelling, and innovation today.These are the conversations you don’t hear in keynotes. The ones about imposter syndrome, trust, failure, confidence, and finding your voice as a leader.Whether you’re just stepping into creative leadership or you’ve been at it for years, Awaiting Approval is your place to feel seen, challenged, and encouraged.Awaiting Approval is a Cordial Fox production.Hosted by Adam JenningsProduced by Adam Jennings & Jasmin Egner© Cordial Fox Limited, 2025.Ready to level up your leadership with real, honest support?Join the next cohort of Supercharged Creative Leaders - my flagship four-week programme for creative leaders who want clarity, confidence, and a community that gets it.✅ Small groups (just 6 per cohort)✅ Weekly live sessions with me and your cohort✅ Async access to me and your cohort via a private Slack community✅ Invitation to join my alumni community once you’ve completed the programme.Previous attendees have gone on to win major pitches, land new roles, get promoted and step into leadership with more purpose and presence.🚀 Learn more and apply here Get full access to Grow With Adam Jennings at growwithadamjennings.substack.com/subscribe

Stan Reimgen, co-founder of Big and Big Future, specializes in sustainable innovation, with a background at Commerzbank and Zalando. He shares his transformative journey from business to design, emphasizing the importance of creativity in tackling climate issues. The conversation highlights the need for experimentation in leadership and aligning personal values with work, especially in sustainability. Stan also reflects on the challenges of parenthood and the impact of AI on design, calling for a balance between technology and creative artistry.