Ogilvy Alumni Spotlight: Thomas Crampton

From the Ogilvy Alumni Newsletter #3

In this edition, we catch up with Thomas Crampton, who dedicated a decade (2009-2019) to Ogilvy, holding various global leadership roles in Consulting and our social media practice. We're grateful to Thomas for sharing his cherished Ogilvy memories and updating us on his journey since moving on.

1. What's the most unusual or unexpected place you've run into a former colleague from our company?

Walking into a high-level event hosted by The Washington Post at the World Economic Forum in Davos this year, I did not expect to know anyone. Very quickly, however, I realized that the host was a former Ogilvy colleague (Kathy Baird), and two former Ogilvy colleagues were also attending (Nathan Friedman and Jennifer Risi). When she heard I was a Post reader, Kathy lived up to David Ogilvy’s mantra of “We sell or else”  by gently reminding me to renew the subscription!

2. What have you done professionally since you left Ogilvy?

Since leaving Ogilvy I have moved into helping venture-backed innovators addressing climate change and human health to raise capital and go public. I take skills honed at Ogilvy with the world’s most iconic brands and use them to support founders scaling their innovations. One day, many of these innovators will be world changing companies.  

3. If you could re-live one day from your time at our company, which day would it be and why?

One of the most striking moments in my first days at Ogilvy came in a piece of advice offered by Chris Graves to someone else in a tense meeting of the APAC leadership team. In finally resolving the issue, Chris said the greatest mistake anyone could make at Ogilvy is to not ask for help. This set the tone for me that Ogilvy is not a nest of vipers, but a network to inspire and support us to achieve our best.

4. Can you share a pivotal moment or project from your time with us that had a lasting impact on your professional development?

No, the impact Ogilvy had on me was not about a single moment or flash of inspiration. Yes, there were epiphanies and many fantastic moments with big wins, prestigious awards and finally managing to hire on board an industry superstar. But for me, Ogilvy was about a deep culture created and codified by David Ogilvy and — in my era — brought to life by working under the leadership of my direct bosses — Miles Young, Chris Graves, Paul Heath, Steve Dahllof and Carla Hendra — and so many more whom I dare not name for fear of leaving them off!!

5. What is your favorite David Ogilvy quote?

It is so difficult to choose just one David Ogilvy quote. That said, it was fundamental to his way of thinking that we must hire people bigger than ourselves. For all the externally recognized financial and creative successes of Ogilvy teams that I inherited or built, my longest-lasting satisfaction comes from having identified and nourished nascent talent, often from the level of intern. You know who you are, and I would like to thank you for bringing meaning to the roles I had.