Carlos Perez

GCD/CDPortfolio review · November 9, 2026Portfolio ↗

Past work. Present thinking.
A future to build together.

A kid from Bogotá

Childhood photograph from Bogotá. Carlos is the child in the red tracksuit, marked with pixel sunglasses.
Family wedding photograph

Family is
everything

Black and white family photograph
Family photograph on a bridge with a bouquet of sunflowers
Family selfie beneath green trees
Black and white family photograph by the water
Family travel photograph
Family group photograph
Carlos and Catherine together twenty years ago
Catherine and me. Twenty years ago.
The people who make me, me.More +Less −

Catherine and I met in New York City 20 years ago. Today, we live in Austin with Joaquin, 11, who attends the French school. My older son, Santiago, 29, is finishing his economics PhD at the University of Chicago. My sister is in Boston; my brother, Barcelona.

Both my parents are lawyers. Somehow, I ended up in creative.

I grew up in Colombia and built my career across five U.S. cities over the past 20-plus years. Living between cultures taught me we’re more alike than different. That shapes the stories I tell.

Iconic brands

Senior Creative Director · Contractor
Windows and Surface

Senior Creative Director
Global expansion
and new business launches

Global Executive Creative Director
Brand storytelling

Executive Creative Director, LATAM
Media Arts Lab

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At Airbnb, I led creative for global expansion and new business launches, and built the team supporting that growth. At Samsung, I led global brand storytelling. At Media Arts Lab, I opened the LATAM operation for Apple. Across each, my focus has been the same: understand the product, find the human story, and stay close to the making.

What I do

Transform complexityinto simple andbeautiful work.

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Sounds simple. It takes work.

Beliefs

01

02

“If you want to beknown worldwide,tell your hometown story.”

Gabriel García Márquez
03

Candy is notgood for you.

“Beware the lollipop of mediocrity. Lick it once and you’ll suck forever.”

Brian Wilson

1. Past

2. Present

3. Future

Build a world-class
in-house team.

At the level of our brands.
And the work we want to make.

Windows
Software
Surface
Hardware
Microsoft
Master brand

One standard

The work.

My approach

Ambition. Restraint. Intentionality.

Four priorities

Process

Clear ownership. Shared standards.

Agree who makes what and who decides, with the quality of the work guiding every decision.

Production

Build the process around the craft.

Bring the right partners in early, with a clear path from idea to finished work.

Talent

Develop our people. Add expertise.

Invest in the team. Hire for the capabilities we need next.

AI + craft

Less friction. More room for great work.

Build AI into our creative process, with shared tools, training and workflows that give the team more time to explore and refine.

Match process
with ambition.

Carlos PerezGCD / CD · Portfolio review