Uncommon Creative Studio Team Members

Natalie has over 20 years experience working at the most successful and creative agencies on the planet working with some of the world’s best known brands.

Between London & Amsterdam she has proven expertise in running business defining relationships & strategies for both global & local brands including Sony, Coca-Cola, BBC, BT, Santander, Sky, Vodafone, Glenfiddich, The Times and many more. She ran the new business machine at creative powerhouse Mother during one of its most successful periods, as well as managing the global Coca Cola business to record profits and overseeing Coke’s London 2012 Global and London campaigns. Before founding Uncommon with Lucy and Nils, Natalie oversaw Grey LDN as Managing Director during the most profitable years in its 52 year history.

Passionate about the power of diversity to generate better thinking, Natalie is a board member of Creative Equals, Leadership Mentor for SheSays, & Development Board member of charity CreateArts. Natalie, and fellow Uncommon founder Lucy, were commended in AdAge’s esteemed annual list: Women to Watch Europe.

Natalie was also listed in Campaign’s Top Suits and is an advocate for independents and female leadership, writing for Campaign, Contagious and Harper’s Bazaar on company culture and featuring on panels for Kingston Smith, This Way Up and D&AD. As well as judging the 2022 LBB Immortal Awards. 

Lucy is regarded as one of the best strategists of her generation, having topped Campaign’s Top Ten Planner list many times. She’s led strategy on many global accounts, such as Unilever’s Ice cream portfolio, Pepsico’s Quaker Global, Budweiser, VW, HSBC and Pinterest and worked across local jewels such as Marmite, Virgin Media, ITV, The Financial Times, Vodafone and Google UK.

Lucy read history at Oxford University and started as a graduate trainee planner at BMP DDB, the agency which invented planning. She rose to leading DDB’s Global Strategy Group and sitting on DDB’s Global Executive Committee. Under her guidance, DDB London was IPA Effectiveness Agency of the Year three times in a row.

Lucy then joined Grey as EMEA/London Chief Strategy Officer, where she also steered Grey to win Agency of the Year at IPA Effectiveness and the Euro Effies. She was promoted to CEO of 550 strong Grey London in Jan 2015, overseeing Grey’s strongest run of awards, new business and commercial success, before leaving to set up Uncommon with Nils and Natalie.

Lucy is a regular industry speaker, judge and mentor, speaking on the importance of purpose, effectiveness and strategy at the likes of D&AD, Google Firestarters, IPA, IAB, Cannes, Facebook and APG, along with many podcasts. She is a member of WACL and the Marketing Group of Great Britain and writes a regular column for Campaign. 

Nils has spent over 20 years in the advertising and design industry working across some of the most recognised brands and agencies in London. In his previous role, as Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Grey LDN, Nils oversaw the most profitable and awarded years in the agency's 52 years history and became one of the youngest agency chairmen in the world leading its key brands globally and locally.

Nils was voted into Adweek's coveted Creativity 100 and was named the No.1 creative person in advertising globally by Business insider, is on the advisory group of The Royal Academy and is listed as one of the Sunday Times 500 most influential people in the UK.

Over the last five years Nils has led the inception and launch of the ethical capsule coffee brand Halo to global acclaim. British GQ describing the Nespresso alternative as ‘The coffee company keeping George Clooney up at night.’

Nils is also the founder of the fastest growing startup in advertising history, Uncommon Creative Studio alongside Lucy Jameson and Natalie Graeme, a creative studio building brands that people in the real world actually wish existed. Labelled as ‘the creative company for leaders and founders in a moment of change’ as well as launching their own brands, Nils has creatively led awarded and stand-out work across a breadth of brands locally and globally. Each with something powerful to say; from creating a free suit hire initiative for H&M globally to help young men find work, to redefining what Nike Jordan means today launching during the 23’ NBA All-Star Weekend through the eyes of an aspiring female baller to designing a new brand identity, logo and vision for the world’s biggest game EA Sports FC.

Nils has also championed creativity across titles such as Monocle, Contagious, Design Week and British GQ. As well as leading the Industry Craft track as Jury President at last year's Cannes Lions. 

Sam Shepherd currently serves as the Chief Creative Officer at Uncommon Creative Studio in New York City. Before joining Uncommon, Sam held a distinguished tenure at Leo Burnett Chicago, where he achieved global recognition as D&AD's most awarded Executive Creative Director. In less than two years, Sam propelled Leo Burnett to Agency of the Year accolades while securing prestigious global account wins with Powerade and Maker's Mark. With two D&AD Black Pencil awards, an Emmy nomination, and 12 Grand Prix victories to his name, Sam's groundbreaking work for Change the Ref, titled "The Lost Class," stands as one of the most celebrated ideas in advertising history. Throughout his career, Sam has collaborated with leading companies worldwide to elevate their brands and pioneer industry-first concepts. His innovative approach seamlessly blends strategy, technology, and data to fearlessly tackle his clients' toughest challenges. In 2017, Sam and his partner Frank Cartagena undertook the mission of transforming 360i New York into one of the most innovative and integrated agencies in the U.S. Recognized as one of Campaign's Agencies of the Year, Sam's leadership resulted in 360i's first-ever Cannes Grand Prix win for the groundbreaking HBO's Westworld "The Maze" activation, a pioneering immersive gaming experience with Amazon Alexa. Prior to his tenure at 360i, Sam made significant contributions at Deutsch New York, where he led the agency to its inaugural Cannes Titanium Lion for the revolutionary 'Krylon's Pinterest Yardsale' project, which redefined brand partnerships and platform functionality with the launch of Pinterest's buyable pin feature. His outstanding achievements earned him recognition as a two-time Business Insider 30-under-30 winner. Sam commenced his illustrious career at DDB New York, where his impactful work for the charity WaterIsLife garnered the agency's first Cannes Lions in over a decade. His innovative project 'The Drinkable Book' was recognized as one of TIME Magazine's best inventions of the year. In addition to his professional endeavors, Sam is deeply committed to supporting worthy causes. His advocacy through projects like Change the Ref and Water Is Life has shed light on critical issues such as gun violence and the global water crisis, driving awareness and generating life-saving donations. Before embarking on his advertising career, Sam pursued his academic interests at the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in communications and design. A two-sport Division 1 athlete, Sam earned recognition as an All-Ivy League recipient in Track and Field.

Chief Strategy Officer.
Driven to help brands navigate disruption and major inflection points.
Whole-brand leader with a winning record building and leading integrated teams of diverse thinkers.
New business specialist with dozens of successful pitches across nearly every category.
Provocateur who challenges conventional thinking both inside organizations and out in the marketplace.