MAKATI CITY, PHILIPPINES // David put his name on the door of BBDO Guerrero, Manila when it opened in 1998. And since then the office has been one of the most consistently awarded agencies in the region. In 2013 the authoritative Gunn Report ranked it as one of the top 50 creative agencies in the world. And in 2014 Campaign Magazine named him South East Asia Creative Person of the Year.

Among its clients are J&J, Pepsi, FedEx and the Department of Tourism. Last year, the agency’s ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines’ campaign created a new national catchphrase within days of its launch. It has been widely recognized for its effectiveness – most recently at the WARC Asian Strategy awards where it picked up the Grand Prix.

Previously he worked at Ogilvy Manila for three years where he won the country's first Grand Prix (at London International) as well as its first recognition at Cannes and Clio. Prior to that he worked in Hong Kong for five years, initiating a global campaign for Cathay Pacific with McCann and working on the government's environmental protection account at JWT.

He started his career in London with a mailer to John Webster who took him on placement at BMP. Subsequently working at a number of other agencies, he won his first award, for radio, at London's Creative Circle and years later headed the Lions Radio jury at Cannes. He has also headed juries at AdFest, Spikes and Melbourne's ADC and served on many international and local shows.

He is married to the editor of the multi-awarded adobo magazine which covers creativity and communications. And they have two children: a graduate philosophy student called Kimi and a high-school scientist called Mo. They occasionally compete for the privilege of walking a black labrador called Fender. However David believes his regular walks may have inspired his latest presentation: the Crap Ideas workshop.