David McGrane

David is a brand strategist and creative director. He is grateful for having had the chance to live, work and win awards in such vibrant centers of branding and creativity as Sydney, London, New York, San Francisco and Moscow.

He has crafted insights for some of the most enduring and successful brands on the planet, including AAA, Adobe, Netflix and The Gap, and for challenger brands such as Charles Schwab, Salesforce, iShares, and renewables leader SunPower. He recently completed a six month project with a growing RIA firm in San Francisco - Parallel Advisors, and has partnered with Global Medical Services (GMR) and Kelly Services on multiple strategic messaging projects.

He has led teams of between 4 and 40, instigated and implemented complete rebrands, undertaken a 20,000 item brand audit, run immersion and longitudinal research for Netflix in Japan, and was selected by Andreessen Horowitz as a branding resource for a16z’s portfolio of startups and established-growth companies. 

Throughout a career on both the agency and client side, he has gained experience in multiple categories - from non-profits to new-tech, software to solar, banks to beverages, and from computers to counties and countries.

He sharpened his entrepreneurial skills while co-founding and running Ozone, a design, strategy and advertising firm in North Beach, for 13 years. Collaborative, passionate and flexible, his mantra has long been ‘Brand Vigilance + Message Clarity’.

• Branding
• Advertising creative
• Advertising and marketing strategy

• Branding
• AI and ethics
• Mindfulness marketing

• UC Berkeley, BA in Philosophy, Current
• College of Marin, AT in Philosophy, 2024
• University of NSW, Non-degree Psychology, 1981

• Brand & Advertising Director, AAA
• Brand & Advertising Director, iShares
• Creative Director, GAP
• Founder, Brand and Creative Director, Ozone Advertising, Design & Strategy
• Executive Creative Director, DMB&B

• Cannes
• D&AD
• Ad Club