Michael Nuzzo
Verified Expert in Marketing
Marketing Expert
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Toptal member since April 8, 2026
Groundbreaking work and the departments that make it possible—Michael has delivered both. Most creative directors live for the output—the idea, the execution, the work—so does he. But few have also built the practices, teams, and cultures that make it repeatable. He builds brands and the infrastructure behind them—strategy, campaigns, production across video, social, experiential, and digital. He's built departments from scratch and elevated every team he's inherited. He builds things that last.
Expertise
- Advertising
- Brand Building
- Branding
- Copywriting
- Creative Direction
- Creative Operations & Leadership
- Social Media
- Team Building
Work Experience
VP, Head of Brand and Creative
Dataminr
- Rebranded a pioneering AI company by establishing its first ethos, "Clarity for a World in Motion." Rebuilt the creative team, visual system, and brand voice for a company trusted by the Fortune 50 and governments globally.
- Generated $40.6 million in pipeline through post-rebrand marketing campaigns, achieving a 58% pipeline-to-revenue conversion rate, more than twice the industry standard of 25%.
- Drove lead generation with a new brand strategy and campaign execution, increasing leads by 492% year over year (YoY) to 308,600.
Executive Creative Director
Toptal
- Restructured and re-staffed the creative department with agency-quality talent, installing a director of creative operations and building processes that exponentially elevated output quality.
- Transformed case study production from animated PowerPoint decks to full video productions, delivering 1 to 2 per quarter at under $50,000 each, including travel, shoot, and post.
- Shifted the creative department's mandate from tactical execution to brand/product-first thinking, exemplified by a LinkedIn brand campaign that repositioned the brand against traditional consulting firms.
Group Creative Director
360i (now DentsuCreative)
- Built a creative culture as the de facto CCO of an agency without a creative identity, establishing the foundation, gaining agency-wide recognition, and opening the LA office four years later.
- Repositioned OREO from a legacy cookie brand to a millennial entertainment brand, achieving a 200% YoY increase in engagement, a 49% brand buzz increase, and the highest awareness and sales levels in its history.
- Turned a $30,000 HBO design assignment into a nearly decade-long partnership, opening doors to A&E, History Channel, and Fox Entertainment, thereby establishing an entertainment marketing practice.
- Launched a zero-awareness Nestlé product with a body-painted nude barista NYC pop-up, achieving 3+ million views before any paid support, 27 million Facebook impressions, and coverage in Fortune, TIME, and Adweek.
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Marketing
Marist College - Poughkeepsie, USA
Skills
Core
Copywriting, Social Media, Ad Campaigns, Branding, Brand Marketing, TV Advertising, Content Creation, Content Marketing, Writing & Editing, Social Media Marketing (SMM), SEO Content, Social Media Strategy, Brand Strategy, PR Campaigns
Platforms & Tools
Asana, Claude, Jasper
Other
Slack, Creative Strategy, Creative Direction, Creative Briefs, Copy Editing, Advertising, Entertainment & Leisure, Strategy, Creative Operations & Leadership, Social Media Video Marketing, Campaigns, Video Production, Leadership, Team Building, Brand Building, Brand Voice, Creative Writing, Film & Television, Content Writing, Adobe Creative Cloud, Midjourney, OpenAI, SEO Copywriting, Art Direction, Cross-functional, Creative Design, Website Design, Website Copywriting, Conversion Rate, Customer Experience, Case Studies
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