Company: Vanguard, Malvern PA
Company Description: Vanguard is one of the world’s largest investment management companies, serving a community of over 30 million investors, each with unique goals and financial plans.
Nomination Category: Management Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Maverick of the Year - Consumer Services
 Nomination Title: Aleka Sansom
- Which will you provide for your nomination in this category, an essay of up to 650 words describing the achievements of the nominated management team, group, or individual since January 1 2021, OR a video of up to five (5) minutes in length describing the same? CHOOSE ONE:
An essay of up to 650 words
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video:
- In bullet-list form, provide a brief summary of up to ten (10) of the chief accomplishments of the nominee(s) since January 1 2021. This is required whether you are submitting a video or an essay:
► Transformed a 30-person creative services organization into a 100+ person in-house ad agency within 1 year, establishing Vanguard’s first-ever full-service in-house agency.
► Equipped this newly formed internal team to better manage the end-to-end creative process for direct-to-consumer marketing and enabled new capabilities for multi-channel campaigns including video/tv, video production/editing, photography, creative and UX strategy, logo and identity design and social and digital content creation.
► Grew production capacity by 25%+ in first year alone
► Positioned the agency to win 63 creative industry awards since 01/2021.
► Created $27.5M in operational savings while increasing workflow by 160% in first two years.
► Boosted content engagement by 54% by increasing paid video content, over-the-top (OTT) marketing, social media presence.
► Reached new audiences through storytelling. Creating differentiating design and messaging for the enterprise level portfolio at the macro level while spearheading micro creative strategies.
► Improved team morale by 30 points in the annual employee engagement survey, ensuring employees felt seen and empowered as the creative experts they are.
► Inspired Vanguard to adopt this approach across all divisions. Every business line that used the in-house model met/exceeded all objectives and key results (OKRs).
►Winner Female Executive of the Year in 19th Annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business
- If you are providing an essay of up to 650 words, place it in this space:
Total 501 words used.
Brands want and need creativity like never before, but very few internal creative teams have been empowered to take on the challenge of meeting that demand. Vanguard’s Aleka Sansom saw an opportunity to transform an in-house creative services team into a full-service in-house creative agency capable of providing enterprise-level marketing support. She worked tirelessly to bring her vision to life, building a dynamic team of creative professionals who’ve raised the bar with award-winning multimedia marketing content that stands proudly alongside the best in the industry.
Throughout Aleka’s vibrant career in the advertising, branding, and creative industries, she’s had the privilege of shaping the in-market presence for some of the most iconic brands in the world. In her own words, “The thing I’ve rallied hardest for in these 20+ years is to dispel the myth that creative work is just execution—that it’s where you come once strategy is done and everything is figured out and the creative team just takes it home in the last mile. That’s actually the total opposite of the contributions I’ve seen creative teams make in my career. The real foundational work—creating content that makes customers feel heard, developing innovative ideas, real breakthrough thinking—all of that has been such an important part of all the creative teams I’ve had the honor of being a part of. Bringing creatives to the table so that they can be involved in the planning and strategic process and be recognized as the innovative contributors they are—that’s the real transformation I’ve brought to the agencies I’ve built and led in my career. The outcome has been a new approach to the creative itself—bold, fresh work that can outperform and drive business results.”
Aleka channeled that mission and energy into the successful launch of RHC, Vanguard’s first in-house creative agency. Under Aleka’s leadership, RHC was able to bring creative and UX strategy, video production, motion graphics, direct mail, social media creative, and web redesign 100% in-house. These changes have saved $27.5 million in external agency production costs to date, creating incredible opportunities to reinvest in ongoing product innovation. The team is working more productively than ever before, and the 29-point jump in self-reported crew engagement during RHC’s freshman year as an in-house agency shows the team is empowered, enthusiastic, and here for the journey. RHC has been honored with 69 creative industry awards since 2021—a testament to the magic of what they’ve been able to accomplish in such a short time under Aleka’s transformative leadership.
Anyone who works in RHC would agree that the real magic behind Aleka’s ability to inspire such a large, diverse team comes from her authenticity. She leads without pretense, brings her true self to every function of her role, and shows through both words and actions that she understands the many complex forces that impact her team’s work and lives. She’s built a culture that brings out the best in everyone who works with her—a truly inspiring bedrock that’s encouraged bold, creative ideas to thrive at Vanguard.
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