Virgin Names Paul Ostryzniuk as First Executive Creative Director to Lead In-House Studio Built for the Speed of Culture

Virgin Group has appointed Paul Ostryzniuk as its first Executive Creative Director, a bold move to deepen Virgin’s investment in creativity, speed, and brand distinctiveness across its global businesses.

Paul brings more than two decades of creative leadership across design, technology, content, and experience. He joins Virgin from AKQA, where he led high-impact work for the likes of Nike, LEGO, MINI and BAFTA.

In his new role, Paul will lead the in-house Virgin Creative Studio, setting the creative direction for how Virgin shows up across campaigns, products, brand, and every touchpoint of the customer journey.

“Creativity isn’t a department, it’s how we serve our customers better, faster, and more meaningfully,” said Sam Kelly, Chief Experience Officer, Virgin.

“Paul’s appointment signals a step-change. We’re building an in-house studio that can move at the speed of culture, powered by data and tech, but rooted in human understanding. Paul’s vision and energy are exactly what we need for this next chapter.”

The announcement follows Paul speaking at a Cannes Lions learning panel on Tuesday where he joined a discussion about the growing importance of continuous learning and reskilling in the creative industry.

Virgin has always been a customer-first brand, from launching Virgin Records to make music more accessible, to turning air travel on its head with Virgin Atlantic’s focus on service and fun. Now, as customers’ expectations shift faster than ever, Virgin is bringing creative firepower directly inside the building to stay ahead of the curve.

As part of his remit, Paul will also lead creative experience for Virgin Red, Virgin’s central loyalty programme that connects customers to epic rewards from across Virgin companies and partner brands they love. His focus will be on making Virgin Red a key expression of the Virgin brand, more rewarding, more distinctive, and more culturally relevant.

“Virgin has always had a point of view.” said Paul Ostryzniuk. “It’s a rebel that doesn’t follow convention, at its strongest when delighting its customers. It doesn’t whisper, it doesn’t blend in, and this role is about sharpening that voice. It’s about building and nurturing a team that designs experiences people actually care about, so Virgin earns the modern-day attention its legacy is built upon.”

As Executive Creative Director, Paul will also focus on scaling Virgin’s global design systems, mentoring multi-disciplinary creative talent, and ensuring Virgin continues to stand out in a sea of sameness. He joins at a time when Virgin is investing in experience-led growth, fusing creative, tech and data under one roof to serve customers with more agility and imagination.

Paul will be based at Virgin’s Whitfield Studios HQ in London, starting immediately.

Source: Virgin Group

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