Dogstudio/DEPT® strengthens creative leadership with new Executive Creative Director

Hailing from Portugal, Cortes’ background as a Creative Director began at a book publisher designing educational flash games. Since then, she’s grown into a jack-of-all-trades creative, with a body of work expanding from interactive storytelling and innovation into AR and emerging tech. With a truly global outlook, Laura has previously worked for Unit9, Nexus Studios and Jam3, where she developed innovative, award-winning work for brands such as adidas, TikTok, Google, Samsung, eBay, Amazon, Estée Lauder, Pepsi, Netflix and The NFB. Cortes has also led the digital department at Warner Bros. Records in the UK, driving digital storytelling and innovation for artists such as Muse, Liam Gallagher, and Dua Lipa. 

“I have always admired the quality of their work, Henry (Daubrez, CCO at Dogstudio/DEPT®) and we had great synergy during a recent project, which made me comfortable sharing the goals and expectations for my next full-time position: I want to double-down on creative innovation and breaking rules, but also would need to take 6 months off starting in July to be a mom. All of that was welcomed with open arms, and the last couple of weeks have proved to be exactly what I was hoping for”, says Laura Cortes, Executive Creative Director, Dogstudio/DEPT®. 

“We’re stoked to have Laura join our team after what has been a long courtship. She’s a disruptive thinker and a true innovator, so we were sure she’d fit right in with the rest of our nerdy crew. We’re excited to see where she takes us and the impact she’ll have on our people and the work we create for our clients”, says Henry Daubrez, CCO at Dogstudio/DEPT®. 

Passionate about giving back to the community and the industry, Laura mentors multiple  programs in Portugal, the UK, and Canada, and provides pro-bono services to nonprofits such as A Woman’s Worth and One Cause a Day. She is also the founder of Firecracker Collective, a global collective of female freelance creatives.