Vanessa Fortier

Vanessa Fortier is an award-winning Creative Director and copywriter, currently helping shape VCU’s UNCOMMON platform into world-class creative. With leadership roles at The Distillery Project, McCann (SVP, ECD), and MONO (its first ECD), she’s made a career out of crafting bold, unconventional work that sparks cultural conversation and drives real business results.

Her work has earned Cannes Lions, Webbys, FWAs, Effies, and recognition from Communication Arts — especially for Benjamin Moore while leading the account at The Martin Agency (SVP,CD). She also led the first major award-winning campaigns for Walmart, earning One Show Pencils for the world's largest retailer.

Before that, Vanessa held leadership roles at Saatchi NY (SVP,CD) on global accounts like Olay, Iams, and Eukanuba, and got her start at Leo Burnett, cutting her teeth on iconic brands like McDonald’s, Kellogg’s, P&G and Hallmark.

She’s penned indelible brand lines including “Paint like no other” for Benjamin Moore and “Love the skin you’re in” for Olay, which became a global platform for over a decade.

A frequent voice on award show juries such as The One Show, LIA, ADC, ADDY, and AICP, Vanessa has earned a reputation for pushing creative boundaries. As a result, she’s been referred to as a “velvet hammer,” although she prefers to think of herself as a “taffeta nail gun.”

Contact: vfortier.ink@gmail.com