JOHN ZISSIMOS / ALONG THE WAY

Along the way.

Along the way.

Along the way.

Two careers have grown out of the same curiosity: finding the story and bringing the right people together to tell it. The first took me through advertising agencies and film sets. The second brought that work inside companies, building the teams and creative organizations around their next chapter. Each brought new challenges and new tools. The question stays the same: what are we solving for?

Two careers have grown out of the same curiosity: finding the story and bringing the right people together to tell it. The first took me through advertising agencies and film sets. The second brought that work inside companies, building the teams and creative organizations around their next chapter. Each brought new challenges and new tools. The question stays the same: what are we solving for?

Personal photography ↗

Two children climbing beside the sea, in black and white.

THE SHORT VERSION

John Zissimos is a marketing executive, creative leader, writer and director. He’s served as Chief Marketing Officer at Okta and founding Chief Marketing Officer at Armada, and held Chief Creative, Digital, Design and Brand Officer roles. His career brings together storytelling, building teams and helping businesses grow.

John Zissimos is a marketing executive, creative leader, writer and director. He’s served as Chief Marketing Officer at Okta and founding Chief Marketing Officer at Armada, and held Chief Creative, Digital, Design and Brand Officer roles. His career brings together storytelling, building teams and helping businesses grow.

Advertising agency leadership & film

Advertising agency leadership & film

The first chapter began at Chiat/Day, followed by Group Creative Director and Senior Partner at J. Walter Thompson, then SVP and Group Creative Director at McCann Erickson. Years of writing, shaping campaigns and leading creative teams came before a move into directing full time, first at Hungry Man, then independently.

The first chapter began at Chiat/Day, followed by Group Creative Director and Senior Partner at J. Walter Thompson, then SVP and Group Creative Director at McCann Erickson. Years of writing, shaping campaigns and leading creative teams came before a move into directing full time, first at Hungry Man, then independently.

Building and leading organizations

Building and leading organizations

Every company needed something different. At Salesforce, I served as Chief Creative & Digital Officer and the company’s first Chief Design Officer. Working closely with Marc Benioff, I built and led a large organization that helped shape how Salesforce showed up in the world, across marketing, digital experiences, product design, events, its buildings and philanthropy. At Google Cloud, I led creative, media, brand and customer programs, helping establish the brand and put a challenger on the map. At Okta, as Chief Marketing Officer, I led a large marketing organization through its next stage of growth. Then came Armada, where being the founding Chief Marketing Officer meant starting with a small team and helping introduce a new company to the world. Different scales, different challenges. The work was always about understanding what the company needed, bringing the right people together and giving them what they needed to do something great.

Every company needed something different. At Salesforce, I served as Chief Creative & Digital Officer and the company’s first Chief Design Officer. Working closely with Marc Benioff, I built and led a large organization that helped shape how Salesforce showed up in the world, across marketing, digital experiences, product design, events, its buildings and philanthropy. At Google Cloud, I led creative, media, brand and customer programs, helping establish the brand and put a challenger on the map. At Okta, as Chief Marketing Officer, I led a large marketing organization through its next stage of growth. Then came Armada, where being the founding Chief Marketing Officer meant starting with a small team and helping introduce a new company to the world. Different scales, different challenges. The work was always about understanding what the company needed, bringing the right people together and giving them what they needed to do something great.

Returning. Moving forward.

Returning. Moving forward.

Eight years after leaving Salesforce, Marc Benioff asked me to come back and help reignite the company for the agentic era. It meant getting to the heart of the company’s next chapter: what it stood for, where it was going and how to tell that story. My job was to rebuild the creative and brand organization around it.

Together, we evolved the brand, rebuilt the teams and created a new campaign organization. We rethought the customer stories and brought it all to life at Dreamforce. AI became part of how we worked, with creative engineers and new ways to make things. It was an enormous undertaking, shared with an extraordinary team. The goal was to leave them with the people, tools and confidence to keep moving the story forward.

Building great teams.

Building great teams.

Building great teams.

The Okta team together on stage at Oktane 2022, with John Zissimos.

Make room for people.
Make room for ideas.

Make room for people.
Make room for ideas.

Make room for people.
Make room for ideas.

Great work needs a clear direction and room for everyone to contribute. That lesson began on film sets and has shaped every team since. Make the mission clear, turn the ambition into daily progress and take responsibility when things go wrong. People need to know you have their back. Family comes first.

Great work needs a clear direction and room for everyone to contribute. That lesson began on film sets and has shaped every team since. Make the mission clear, turn the ambition into daily progress and take responsibility when things go wrong. People need to know you have their back. Family comes first.

Show up. Be helpful.

Make daily progress.

Pour love into the room.

Take everyone with you.

Show up. Be helpful.

Make daily progress.

Pour love into the room.

Take everyone with you.

John and his wife at Temple University, his award and the speaking ceremony in 2019.

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY / 2019

Coming back. Giving back.

Coming back. Giving back.

Going back to Temple to be honored for my career, with my wife beside me, meant more to me than any advertising award. But the part I loved most was spending time with the students. There’s nothing better than getting them excited about everything that’s ahead of them, sharing what I’ve learned and passing along a few shortcuts I wish I’d had when I was starting out.

More room for creativity.

More room for creativity.

More room for creativity.

Every new era offers a chance to raise the bar. AI is opening up new creative roles, tools and ways of working. Embracing what it offers means giving people more room to explore, make and surprise an audience. The purpose stays the same: elevate the work and respect the people it is made for.

Every new era offers a chance to raise the bar. AI is opening up new creative roles, tools and ways of working. Embracing what it offers means giving people more room to explore, make and surprise an audience. The purpose stays the same: elevate the work and respect the people it is made for.

My favorite film.

My favorite film.

People often expect a commercial or a big company project. It’s a day with my middle daughter. Just the two of us.

People often expect a commercial or a big company project. It’s a day with my middle daughter. Just the two of us.

CONTACT

Get in touch.

Get in touch.

Get in touch.

For projects, consulting or speaking engagements.

© 2026 John Zissimos

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