Marcello Grande
Moraga,California
Summary
You can have a great company, a brilliant product, even a category you helped create and still lose the market to someone who showed up with a better story. That gap between where your story is and where it needs to be is expensive — in pipeline, in talent, in market position, in time.
That's the problem I've spent twenty years solving, by treating Story not as a marketing function but as operating infrastructure: the system that aligns leadership, clarifies category POV, and determines whether belief holds as a company grows.
I have built that infrastructure inside some of the world's most complex enterprise organizations bringing together the strategy, creative, and cross-functional leadership needed to make it real: translating vision into narrative, narrative into systems, and systems into the content and experiences that define category leaders. In my experience, the problem is rarely the technology. It is almost always the story.
Overview
2027
2027
years of professional experience
Work History
CSO & ECD Partner
Teleflex
2024.01 - Current
- Developed brand strategy and campaign creative direction for dual-narrative platform, aligning clinical, HCP, and patient messaging across two product lines during RemainCo/NuCo transition.
- UroLift “Prostate Monster”: 3,200 appointments booked in 8 weeks | 25,000 website visits/physician searches | Web sessions +297.5% YoY | Ad Age Healthcare Marketing Awards — Silver.
- Created 'Safe Spacing' category for prostate cancer radiation therapy, establishing brand narrative, HCP positioning, and campaign platform to enhance clinical credibility and market awareness at launch.
CSO & ECD Partner
Hexagon AB
2022.01 - Current
- Conducted narrative audit, executed category shift, developed visual identity, established design system, defined brand architecture, implemented governance, streamlined enterprise web IA, and facilitated global rollout.
- Led end-to-end transformation: narrative audit, category shift, visual identity, design system, brand architecture, governance, enterprise web IA, and global rollout across ~24,800 employees in 50 countries.
- Worked alongside CEO, CMO, CSO, CTO, and divisional presidents globally to drive alignment across functional and organizational silos | Coordinated global brand launch, June 2025.
- Gartner: company to beat in Earth Intelligence Solutions following the rebrand | Sitecore Digital Impact Awards — 3× Finalist.
- Holding Company to Unified Global Brand
Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer & Executive Creative Director
First Person, Inc.
San Francisco, USA
2013.01 - Current
- Over 12 years I have led the firm’s work with 75+ enterprise clients — operating not as an outside agency but as an embedded senior partner alongside CMOs, SVPs of Brand, and CEOs.
- I define the category, architect the brand, build the narrative and design systems that operationalize it, and develop the internal team capability to sustain it.
- First Person is a Narrative Transformation Company built at the intersection of strategy, story, design, and systems.
CSO & ECD Partner
Sophos
2024.01 - 2025.01
- Achieved 477M video views; drove awareness lift of 13.4% in UKI, 9.6% in DACH, and 8.63% in APJ; increased peak ad recall lift to 19.8% in UKI, 18.5% in DACH, and 14.0% in APJ.
- Positioned Sophos #5 in AI Solution Effectiveness — ahead of SentinelOne, Trend Micro, and Fortinet.
- Brand Trust +7pts | Enterprise Awareness +8pts | Enterprise Consideration +7pts | SMB Trust +13pts.
- 477M video views | Awareness Lift: UKI 13.4%, DACH 9.6%, APJ 8.63% | Peak Ad Recall Lift: UKI 19.8%, DACH 18.5%, APJ 14.0%.
CSO & ECD Partner
Omnicell
2018.01 - 2022.01
- Collaborated with CEO and CMO to define and launch Autonomous Pharmacy category; developed narrative system, brand architecture, campaign platform, and sales enablement infrastructure.
- Established Autonomous Pharmacy as a new healthcare technology category, positioning company as an industry leader.
- Revenue: $500M → $2B+ ARR in ~3 years | Total pipeline: $1.6B | 50% YoY increase | $42M new bookings closed.
- Flagship event pipeline: $390M | Influenced pipeline (national truck tour): $320M | Sales cycle 1.6× faster | Premium conversion: 8% (2× industry benchmark).
- Early adopter consortium: 13 → 50+ members in year one | 12+ consecutive Best in KLAS awards.
- Led creation, writing, and design of Omnicell’s 30th Anniversary book, showcasing company’s founding conviction and vision for autonomous future.
- Category creation, narrative strategy, brand architecture, campaign platform, and sales enablement infrastructure.
CSO & ECD Partner
VMware
2011.01 - 2022.01
- Seven years of VMworld keynote, broadcast, and breakout content — main stage narrative, executive storytelling, and session design across one of enterprise tech’s largest annual events.
- “Everyware” campaign (2018–2021) and “Anywhere Workspace” campaign (2021–2022) — $25M annual budget | 59M+ campaign impressions | Brand perception lift: India +30pts, UK +26pts, US +10pts (+15pts with TV pivot).
- Led brand identity systems, design frameworks, and global advertising campaigns, enhancing partner and customer engagement in co-marketing initiatives.
- Integrated narratives of four acquired companies — Nicira, AirWatch, Carbon Black, Pivotal — into VMware ecosystem, ensuring brand coherence during rapid portfolio expansion.
- Brand identity and architecture, global advertising, VMworld event content, and M&A narrative integration across 11+ years.
Brand & Storytelling Consultant (Badged)
Cisco
San Jose, USA
2006.01 - 2019.01
- Led storytelling project capturing Cisco’s 30-year legacy, interviewing founding team including Len Bosack John Chambers,
- Helped develop Cisco visual identity and motion graphics system, logos, color, icons, motion, video and writing guides, earning REBRAND 100 distinction.
- Worked alongside Cisco leadership to help launch major products and practices — embedded in the brand and storytelling function with access and accountability equivalent to a senior team member.
- Contributed to successful launches of WebEx, TelePresence, CiscoOne, Linksys, Cisco Security, Duo Security, Meraki, Armorblox, Jasper, enhancing brand presence.
- Defined guidelines and governance for Cisco Studio, ensuring consistency and quality across hundreds of content pieces weekly.
- Cisco Security: 100M+ users secured | “Anatomy of an Attack”: 14M YouTube views | “Lights Out”: #1 conversion asset.
CSO & ECD Partner
GE (General Electric)
2011.01 - 2016.01
- Worked alongside President & CEO of GE Power Steve Bolze, Chief Digital Officer Ganesh Bell, and senior leadership to define and launch the Industrial Internet as a global market category.
- Built narrative platforms and industry-defining design language for Digital Power Plant, Digital Wind Farm, Digital Steam, and Digital Imaging.
- Developed Predix platform story and UX/UI, presented at COP21 (2015), and contributed to WEF conversations shaping Industry 4.0 framework.
- 25 new major industrial customers / 14 months | 14 countries | 6 languages | 100% increase in software & services sales.
- Wrote and produced speeches, keynotes, and main stage content for 37 senior executive presentations (15 C-suite), modeling energy value chain for $112M–$598M annual savings.
- Created global customer stories and advertising for all GE Digital divisions, designed tradeshow booth and immersive experiences, and planned content for analyst and investor relations.
- Coined “Brilliant Factory” and “Digital Power Plant” narratives, both adopted globally | Minds + Machines event architecture | EVN immersive experience at World’s Fair and COP21.
- Digital Wind Farm: up to $100M savings per farm / $75B industry impact | GE Bouchain: Guinness World Record for power plant efficiency.
- Category creation, narrative strategy, executive speechwriting, design language, global advertising, customer storytelling, experience design, tradeshow, Predix UX/UI, and analyst & investor relations across GE Power, Aviation, Oil & Gas, Healthcare, and Digital.
Founder & Creative Director
WESTERNIZED
Los Angeles / San Francisco, USA
2000.01 - 2013.01
- Corning “A Day Made of Glass” I & II (Exec. Creative Director): 29M+ organic views | Collaborated with IDEO, Goodby Silverstein, Publicis West, Venables Bell, McCann Worldgroup.
- Honored with Adweek Campaign of the Year for innovative approach and impactful storytelling.
- Received Clio Gold award for excellence in creative advertising.
- Secured Cannes Lions Gold, Silver, Bronze awards, recognizing outstanding creativity and effectiveness in campaigns.
- Honored at One Show for innovative campaign design.
- Effie.
CSO & ECD Partner
BlackBerry
2019 - 2022
- Developed narrative strategy, repositioned brand, and created campaigns to transform handset manufacturer into enterprise cybersecurity authority.
- Achieved 70.9M impressions, 80% lift in website traffic, and record-breaking 1.22% CTR on Forbes.com, driving 27% greater engagement than projected.
Education
BFA - Experimental Animation
California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
Certificate - Graphic Design
UCLA Extension
Certificate - Design Thinking Program
IDEO U
Skills
- Narrative Systems & Story Architecture
- Category Creation & Market Positioning
- Brand Strategy, Identity & Architecture
- Executive Speechwriting & Keynote Direction
- Visual Identity & Design Systems
- M&A Brand Integration & Governance
- Global Campaign Leadership & Creative Direction
- Cross-Functional Alignment & Team Leadership
- Sales Enablement & GTM Narrative
- Workshop Facilitation & Executive Synthesis
- Human-Centered Design & Design Thinking
- Cybersecurity Brand Positioning
- Design Operations (Figma, Frontify, Bynder, FrameIO)
- AI-Native Workflows & Tool Building
Recognition
- Cannes Lions Gold, Silver, Bronze
- Clio Gold
- One Show
- Effie
- MIXX
- REBRAND 100 Global Awards — Distinction
- Ad Age Healthcare Campaign of the Year Award — Silver
- Sitecore Digital Impact Awards — 3× Finalist
- Sundance Film Festival
- Speaker, Chief Strategy Officer Summit
Timeline
CSO & ECD Partner
Teleflex
2024.01 - Current
CSO & ECD Partner
Sophos
2024.01 - 2025.01
CSO & ECD Partner
Hexagon AB
2022.01 - Current
CSO & ECD Partner
Omnicell
2018.01 - 2022.01
Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer & Executive Creative Director
First Person, Inc.
2013.01 - Current
CSO & ECD Partner
GE (General Electric)
2011.01 - 2016.01
CSO & ECD Partner
VMware
2011.01 - 2022.01
Brand & Storytelling Consultant (Badged)
Cisco
2006.01 - 2019.01
Founder & Creative Director
WESTERNIZED
2000.01 - 2013.01
CSO & ECD Partner
BlackBerry
2019 - 2022
BFA - Experimental Animation
California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
Certificate - Graphic Design
UCLA Extension
Certificate - Design Thinking Program
IDEO U