Darren Lee

Creative Director | Head of Creative | Packaging & Brand worlds | AI-Enabled Workflows | FMCG & Consumer Brands

Harrow, England, United Kingdom

About

Creative Director and Design Leader with 25+ years building brand systems and creative functions that deliver measurable commercial growth - 50% brand growth, 80% faster time to market, 55% reduction in agency costs. I've led global creative strategy across £3bn+ portfolios at Reckitt (Durex, Scholl, Nurofen, Mucinex, Strepsils and more) across packaging, campaigns, e-commerce, retail and digital in 130+ markets. I build in-house creative teams from scratch, establish the systems that make them scalable, and develop the people within them. I've built and implemented AI-enabled creative processes that cut production time, increase output quality and unlock creative possibilities that weren't viable before. I'm strongest where creative excellence meets commercial rigour, where design is more than just taste, aesthetic and craft but strategically drives brand equity, consumer preference and business results.

Experience

  • Reckitt (Full-time · 6 yrs 6 mos)
    • Global Head of Brand Experience & Design (Creative Director) - OTC, VMS & New Business Platforms
      Nov 2022 - Present · 3 yrs 8 mos

      • Defined global design and creative strategy across £3bn+ Health & Wellness portfolio (Durex, Scholl, Nurofen, Mucinex, Strepsils) spanning packaging, instore, comms, digital, social and e-commerce. • Built an in-house design function from scratch, cutting external agency spend by 55% and increasing project throughput by 60%. • Partnered with Global and Local Brand teams to translate positioning into distinctive creative ecosystems across all channels. • Led multidisciplinary teams and external partners across design, content, social and production in UK, US & China. • Delivered omnichannel creative strategy across product innovation, brand repositioning and pipeline development. Implemented global brand guidance and asset libraries, improving agility, consistency and speed of execution across markets. • Led 3D structural and visual packaging innovation, enhancing shelf impact and consumer experience. • Reduced time to market for global redesign programmes by 80% through workflow redesign and creative governance. • Led sustainable packaging initiatives delivering 16% CO₂ reduction and removal of plastic blisters and MetPol across four brands. • Delivered Reckitt's largest-ever global redesign rollout across 130+ markets, driving brand growth and uplift in engagement. • Owned £3m+ global design budget across internal teams, freelancers and creator partners. • Championed AI and digital workflows including e-commerce digital twins and connected packaging. • Led design strategy supporting 50% brand growth over five years.

    • Global Head of Design & Brand Experience- Relief
      Jan 2020 - Present · 6 yrs 6 mos

  • RB (3 yrs 5 mos)
    • Global Brand Experience and Design Strategy Manager (Creative Director)
      Jan 2018 - Jan 2020 · 2 yrs 1 mo

    • Global Design Management
      Sep 2016 - Jan 2018 · 1 yr 5 mos

  • Freelance Designer at Available for new opportunities
    Apr 2016 - Sep 2016 · 6 mos

  • Creative Director at GAMA Healthcare
    Sep 2011 - Mar 2016 · 4 yrs 7 mos

    • Managed an agile multidisciplinary in-house creative team delivering brand, packaging, digital and social campaign systems for 100+ SKUs and 5 brands. • Secured 400% creative headcount growth by demonstrating strategic & commercial value of in-house creative capability • Drove brand expansion into 50+ markets through consistent, scalable creative and packaging frameworks. • Built a high-performing agile team who delivered fast, well crafted & impactful creative output which supported rapid business growth. • Mentored and developed junior designers into self-starting, data driven and commercially aware creative leaders • Partnered with key opinion leaders to deliver first-in-category digital and training tools increasing brand engagement and retention.

  • Lead designer at Compass Group UK & Ireland
    Mar 2005 - Sep 2011 · 6 yrs 7 mos

    • Designed comprehensive branding solutions for catering facilities in that amplified venue performance and drove consumer engagement. • Progressed from Senior to Lead Designer with increased leadership responsibility and project management. • Created high-impact tender documents that supported the success of major contract wins, where design was cited as a significant differentiator. • Initiated in-house interior design function which delivered cost savings and boosted speed to market. Developed powerful brand world assets, POS, packaging, experiential and comm's, for Royal Albert Hall, Kew Gardens, M&S, Nestle, Barbican & Harrods that enhanced consumer engagement.