Fueling Disruption With Simplicity

By India Fizer

TBWA\Chiat\Day NY’s new CSO Tom Sussman speaks with AdForum on commercial truth, creative leaps, and his globally sharpened strategic lens.

Five months into his role as Chief Strategy Officer at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, Tom Sussman speaks with the mix of candor and curiosity that has defined his transatlantic career.

“I’ve probably had the best summer of my life,” he says, reflecting on his arrival in early July. “Every day has been exciting in a different way. And a big part of that has been the agency I’ve joined. I’ve not had a bad day at work so far.”

Sussman’s decision to leave London, where he was twice named Campaign’s Strategist of the Year, was powered by a single word: “adventure.” Yet the move, he notes, was equally rooted in culture. “This was a gang I could be a part of. They take the work very seriously, but not themselves very seriously. Life’s too short to spend with people who aren’t nice and talented at the same time.”

As the saying goes “there’s a lot of ego in advertising,” so finding your tribe is imperative.

Building future-ready teams

Sussman’s reputation in the UK was shaped by his commitment to designing strategy departments fit for the next era of planning. At Leo Burnett, where he rebuilt the strategy unit, he emphasized diversity of background and thought – but his signature idea was mental fitness. Focusing on mental ‘fitness’ rather than mental ‘health’ emphasizes the idea of balance over perfection.

“It’s about how able you are to tackle your workload, understanding none of us are at 100% all of the time,” he explains. Weekly check-ins on his McDonald’s team created conditions that kept people balanced — not swinging between extremes. “If you want a high-performing team, it’s a constant effort of optimization and nurturing.”

Culture, scale and strategy in the U.S.

Asked about the differences between the U.S. and UK marketing ecosystems, Sussman points first to scale, and then to culture. “American marketing is much more focused on culture and cultural difference,” he observes. With so many influences jostling for position, “you have to be sharper. You have to care about it more.”

But he remains adamant that enduring brand building relies on something deeper than cultural fluency alone. “Brands are built on unchanging human drivers. We need to execute in culture to stay relevant, but meaning is built over years, not months. I do think there’ll be a need for a renewed focus on the source of research which unearths those unchanging things. So, basically talking to people again, rather than just talking about culture.”

Creative and the commercial obligation

In a future where many industries must justify their value, Sussman iterates that creativity and commercial impact are inseparable. His work on campaigns such as McDonald’s Raise Your Arches and John Lewis’ Tiny Dancer reflect this. Raise Your Arches generated around 45 million pounds in incremental revenue, while the latter delivered just over a 60 % uplift in sales.

“Creative impact is sales. It’s commercial growth. We’re hired by companies whose interest is commercial growth, and our value is helping them achieve it.”

“There are very few examples of great creative campaigns that don’t deliver results,” he continues. “Creativity is still the last remaining unfair competitive advantage.”

TBWA’s hallmark philosophy — Disruption — is not a slogan but a practical engine for effectiveness. The approach aligns neatly with his own instinct to find growth by breaking category assumptions. As he puts it, “Contradicting conventional thinking is a shortcut to transformational leaps.”

The strategist of 2026 and power of being helpful

The modern strategist according to Sussman is simply “the most helpful person in the room.” The other half of that is being incredibly collaborative. Skill sets evolve, he adds, but attitude determines trajectory. “Strategists don’t have problems developing new skills. The thing that pushes you forward is your approach. Focus on being helpful.”

What he has discovered at TBWA\Chiat\Day NY reinforces that belief. “I’ve walked into a department full of brilliant minds — more importantly, helpful minds that genuinely like each other and work well together. Culture beats strategy every day of the week.”

Tune into TBWA\Chiat Day NY’s disruptive catalogue of work here.