Awaiting Approval

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Chris Nguyen has lived more creative lives than most designers ever get close to. He is the Founder of UX Playbook, former Head of Product Design at TrueMonkey, and previously UX Manager at Wizeline, where he helped grow the team from a dozen designers to more than forty.

In this episode, Chris joins Adam for a fast, honest conversation about designing a career on your own terms. He shares how he went from dropping out of computer science and working in restaurants, to stumbling into a tech company in Vietnam, getting fired, freelancing, and eventually landing his...

Cat How has built one of the most talked-about branding agencies on two continents. She is Co-founder and Executive Creative Director at How&How, D&AD Jury President 2026, and has been recognised among the 100 Women to KNOW in America and 100 Most Influential Creative Leaders in 2025.

In this episode, Cat joins Adam for a relaxed, very human conversation about the reality of creative leadership. She shares how an English Literature degree led to design criticism, then to retraining as a graphic designer, moving across the world, starting multiple businesses, and finally building How&How into a global branding...

Awaiting Approval Season 2 will premiere 4th December 2025.

Yes, the podcast about the messy, human side of creative leadership is back. With 17 brand new episodes, 16 brand new guests, and one familiar face from season one!

This season I talk with design leaders from Microsoft, Ancestry, Elsevier, Lloyds Banking Group, Vodafone, BMW, Rightmove, Shell, British Airways, HSBC and many more.*

You can find out more in the Season Two full trailer that launched today! Listen to it here or watch it on YouTube

🎙 Awaiting Approval – Season Two Schedule

* S2E1 : Cat How...

Awaiting Approval Season 2 will premiere 4th December 2025.

Yes, the podcast about the messy, human side of creative leadership is back. With 17 brand new episodes, 16 brand new guests, and one familiar face from season one!

This season I talk with design leaders from Microsoft, Ancestry, Elsevier, Lloyds Banking Group, Vodafone, BMW, Rightmove, Shell, British Airways, HSBC and many more.*

You can find out more in the Season Two full trailer that launched today! Listen to it here or watch it on YouTube

🎙 Awaiting Approval – Season Two Schedule

* S2E1 : Cat How...

Bonus Episode – Season One Exclusive Cast Roundtable Conversation

Welcome to this - a roundtable conversation with as many of the cast of Season One as schedules would allow. This is your once in a lifetime chance to sit in on a chat with exceptionally talented creative leaders from a myriad of disciplines including design, advertising, user research, user experience, product design, animation, industrial design, branding and even design hiring.

And for those of you already tuned in to the Awaiting Approval podcast you’ll know this group has an unmatched pedigree, with client and partners name...

Bonus Episode – Behind the Mic with Adam Jennings, Creator and Host of Awaiting Approval

What does it really take to make a podcast about creative leadership - without a production team, a marketing budget, or a safety net?

In this special bonus episode, Adam pulls back the curtain on Awaiting Approval itself. Why it exists. Who it’s for. What it’s becoming. From a quiet idea shared with a partner, to charting in 12 countries and reaching thousands of listeners around the world - this is the behind-the-scenes story of how it all came to life.<...

Roger Rohatgi - Chief AI Officer (Former VP Global Head of Design at BP, with past work with brands such as Verizon, Twitter, MTV, Motorola Solutions, Oracle and more)

What happens when a motion designer turned creative director becomes one of the world’s leading voices in Human-Centered AI?

In this episode, Roger Rohatgi takes us on a remarkable journey from lifeguarding and cleaning gas pumps to leading multi-agent AI systems and 86,000-component design systems at global scale. We talk about the messy human side of creative leadership - how putting on gloves with your te...

Jason Giles - VP of Product Design at UserTesting (ex-Ticketmaster, AT&T, Microsoft)

From laying carpets by day and playing synths by night to becoming a VP of Product Design at UserTesting, Jason Giles’ journey is anything but conventional.

In this episode, we dive into his early struggles with imposter syndrome, how a supportive culture at Microsoft helped him rise, and why he believes some of the best design leaders come from the most non-traditional paths. Jason reflects on leadership as an act of service, what it means to be truly people-first, and how a ch...

Dr Chris Arnold – Author, Ethical Marketing Pioneer, Neurodiversity Champion (Former Creative Director and Board Director at Saatchi & Saatchi. Founder of Creative Orchestra and Dyversity Lab)

What if your greatest creative strength was the very thing school told you was wrong?

In this energetic, honest, and refreshingly unfiltered conversation, Dr Chris Arnold shares how being ADHD and dyslexic became his superpower - fueling a career that spans radical creative direction, industry-shifting PR stunts, and one of London’s biggest community arts festivals.

We talk about his time at Saatchi & Saatchi, founding multiple agencies, why most...

Lou Maxon - ECD at Maxon House (Acer, BMW, McDonald's, Lego, Lexus, Sothebys, etc)

From crafting editorial layouts at Time Out New York to building immersive brand experiences for global giants, Lou Maxon’s career is rooted in curiosity, craft, and storytelling.

In this conversation, Lou shares what it’s like to lead from a forest-bound studio on rails, why authenticity beats scale, and how his work has helped shape everything from sippy cup startups to sustainability campaigns. We talk about career pivots, design culture, the death of craft, and why the best creative leaders are...

Kevin Parry – Stop-Motion Animator & Video Wizard (Clients include Disney, Laika and more)

From hand-drawn frames to viral visual illusions, Kevin Parry has carved a unique path from the stop-motion stages of Laika to the scroll-stopping magic of social media.

In this episode, Kevin reflects on learning animation with pencil and paper, creating one-to-two seconds of footage a day on features like Kubo and the Two Strings, and the rigging ingenuity that makes stop-motion breathe. We explore his early lessons in CG, the creative joy (and isolation) of working solo, and the moment he knew he ha...

Jane Cook - Product Experience Design Leader (ex-Uswitch, Global Media, Visa Europe, Vodafone, Dell Technologies, Hasbro, Mattel)

From designing Barbie dolls in Milan to leading design teams across fintech, healthtech, and global consumer brands, Jane Cook brings heart, grit, and clarity to every stage of her creative leadership journey.

In this episode, Jane shares how an early career in industrial design laid the foundation for two decades of product design leadership, the moment she realised she loved mentoring more than pixels, and why scribbling on walls still plays a key role in her process. We...

Bill Snebold – Creative Director & Entertainment Industry Specialist (Former design leader at Paramount Pictures and Disney; clients include Disney, The CW Network, and PBS)

From specifying typographic details for actor resumés in a Hollywood attic to designing marketing materials for Titanic and Mission: Impossible, Bill Snebold has been at the forefront of media innovation.

In this episode, Bill traces a career that began with X‑Acto knives and paste‑up boards and evolved into award‑winning digital campaigns, websites, and packaging for some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises. He reveals how an insatiable curiosity led him to pion...

Rashmi Lopez - Creative Director & Founder (ex-CareRev, Genius Sports, MediaTemple, IGN)

From gaming and beauty to healthcare and tech, Rashmi Lopez has led design across some of the most unexpected corners of the creative industry. Her journey? Anything but linear.

In this episode, Rashmi opens up about surviving multiple layoffs, chasing community over titles, and why every sketchbook should be your messy sketchbook. We explore the shift from making things pretty to making things matter - and what it really means to lead with purpose in an industry that often forgets the human behind the...

Dave Zaboski - Artist & Former Animator at Disney, Warner Bros. and Sony (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Fantasia 2000)

From animating some of the most iconic films of all time to painting for the Dalai Lama and co-founding a tech startup, Dave Zaboski has spent a lifetime turning thoughts into things - and teaching others to do the same.

In this episode, Dave reflects on his time inside Disney’s second golden age, what it means to “solve for the light,” and why culture matters more than process when building high-performing creative teams...

Laura Baker - Managing Director at Fearless (Founding member of FIFTY, ex-industrial designer)

From Post-It notes in the dark to leading one of the most respected design consultancies in the UK, Laura Baker’s path into leadership was anything but planned.

In this episode, Laura shares how an unexpected client decision thrust her into leadership, how a gut-punch moment around burnout reshaped how she leads, and why she believes legacy is about leaving things better than you found them. We talk about building trust, reframing value when you’re no longer “doing the work,” and the quie...

Stan Reimgen - Co-Founder at Big (ex-Commerzbank, Zalando, Microsoft, Tomorrow Bank)

From launching mobile banking for 1.5 million customers at Commerzbank to building sustainable innovation with pioneers like Zalando, Microsoft, and Tomorrow Bank, Stan Reimgen’s journey is a masterclass in purpose-driven design leadership.

In this conversation, we explore his shift from business school to hands-on design, the power of experimentation, and what it really means to create work that helps the planet - not just the product roadmap. Stan opens up about parenthood, purpose, and why designers need to reclaim their creative fire before the in...

S1. E2. : Charmaine Wyland – User Focused Design Leader, (Ex-Gumtree, Just Eat, Expedia, SapientRazorfish)

From e-learning in Dublin to redesigning legacy media platforms and leading massive digital transformations for big brands in both the USA and UK, Charmaine Wyland’s creative leadership journey is anything but linear - and all the better for it.

In this episode, Charmaine reflects on her serpentine career path, shares what it really takes to grow high-performing teams, and offers a masterclass in navigating change with empathy and clarity. We talk design maturity, rebrands, AI’s impact, and how she used storef...

S1 E1 : Kevin Frank - Creative Leader (ex-Apple, LinkedIn) and Author of Raising Creative Teams

Kevin Frank has spent three decades leading creative at some of the world’s most iconic brands, from launching global campaigns at Apple to redefining brand and culture at LinkedIn. Along the way, he’s earned recognition from Cannes, D&AD, and AdAge’s In-House Agency of the Year and Best Places to Work lists.

In this episode, Kevin opens up about the hard lessons of leadership, why relationships matter more than awards, and the moment at Apple that changed how he...

For the last 30 years, I’ve led creative teams across every discipline.

One thing’s always been true - the most interesting conversations happen with creative people.

So I started recording them.

Awaiting Approval is a podcast about the messy, human side of creative leadership.

And Season One is packed with the kinds of guests I wish I’d had access to when I was starting out.

From Apple, Microsoft, Paramount, LinkedIn, and more - these are raw, honest, unscripted conversations about leading with creativity, integrity, and courage.

💥 Se...

This is a new podcast where I sit down with seasoned leaders from across the creative industries to talk honestly about the work, the lessons, and the leadership moments that shaped them.

The episodes are real, unfiltered, and always end with the same simple question.

How each guest interprets that question? That’s up to them!

And you’ll need to subscribe to find out what the question is.

This trailer gives you a taste of what’s to come.

I hope you’ll subscribe and join me.

- Adam...