Chief Creative Officer / MSL, PRovoke Media Creative Agency of the Year / Publicis / Saatchi & Saatchi / Fallon / Google Ventures-backed Aterian/Mohawk Group / Sandbox/Merge, DE&I Chair / Art Center Alumna / Activist
Roya Partovi is a seasoned Chief Creative Officer based in New York City, with over 20 years of experience leading global creative teams and brands. Born in Iran and raised in Germany, Roya holds a degree from Arts Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
Throughout her career, Roya has successfully crafted and nurtured brands across various industries, from iconic brands with large teams and big budgets to nimble yet mighty startups with small teams and no budget. Her tenure includes pivotal roles at Fallon LA, Saatchi & Saatchi LA, Havas NYC, and Publicis NYC, where she led creative initiatives for global clients like BMW, Citibank, Amazon, Toyota, P&G, Cadillac, Nestlé, and Charles Schwab, among others.
After over a decade in the advertising industry, Roya joined the Google Ventures-backed brand launchpad, Aterian (formerly known as Mohawk Group). In her role as the first Chief Creative Officer, she built and grew a world-class creative department spanning three continents. She helped to rapidly accelerate the company’s portfolio and revenue growth via innovative product development, branding, and technology-driven launches. At MERGE (formerly Sandbox), Roya led a 90+ person creative team across four offices. Her responsibilities encompassed guiding all facets of the agency's creative mission, with notable clients including T-Mobile, LG, and American Express. Roya also played a pivotal role in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as co-chair of MERGE’s DE&I Taskforce.
In her most recent role as MSL's first Chief Creative Officer, Roya further solidified her reputation as a visionary leader. She orchestrated and inspired a cross-functional creative team across eight US offices, delivering exceptional results for prominent clients such as Cadillac, Home Depot, Eli Lilly, Gilead, USB, J.M Smucker, Campbell’s, Kellogg’s, Inspire Brands, and P&G. Under her leadership within the first year, Roya and her team celebrated "2023 PRovoke Media Creative Agency of the Year".
Outside of her agency life, Roya works as a consultant, providing mentorship to small media and entertainment businesses as well as women and MENA-led startups. She is deeply committed to purpose-driven initiatives and serves as a dedicated human rights activist.
Residing in Brooklyn with her family, Roya remains dedicated to collaborative endeavors that challenge creative boundaries and foster meaningful impact.
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