Brand, Team & Ops Builder

I build the brand,
the team, and the plan behind it.

Brand Builder. Ops Architect. Chaos Wrangler when it counts.

For 20+ years, I’ve helped founders and growing teams turn ambitious ideas into brands—and build the people, plans, and operating systems that bring them to life.

I work at the intersection of brand ambition and operational clarity, combining the thinking of a strategist, the instincts of a creative leader, and the discipline of an operator. From growth and reinvention to full-scale transformation, I partner directly with founders, executives, and global teams to make great work happen—and make it scalable.

See How I Help Let's Talk
CA monogram — Good Brand Fun
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20+ years building brands, teams, and experiences across industries, growth stages, and moments of transformation.

Stasher
adidas
Yahoo!
Live Nation
Chime
Vice
Citi
Twitter
Amazon
FlyHouse
Stitch Fix
American Eagle Outfitters
Target
Google
Vox
Beautycon
DesignScene
Who I Help

I work best at
pivot points.

When a brand, team, or business needs to change shape to reach what’s next.

01

Founders & Early Teams Scaling Fast

You’ve found traction. Now you need the brand, team, and operating structure to support real growth—not just a bigger to-do list.

02

Brands at an Inflection Point

A raise, rebrand, reorg, or realization that what worked before won’t work next. You need to rethink the strategy and rebuild the engine behind it—at the same time.

03

Leaders Stepping Into Change

You’ve inherited a team or function that needs to be rebuilt, not simply managed. I help bring clarity to the brand, strengthen the team, and create a better way of working.

What I Do

The strategy,
and the machine
that ships it.

I bring the perspective of a strategist, creative leader, and operator—shaped by 20+ years on both the client and agency sides.

That range allows me to see the whole system: define the big-picture strategy, understand what’s creatively possible, and build the team and operating structure required to deliver it.

My work typically connects three essential pieces: shaping the brand and plan, building the team and processes behind it, and turning the thinking into a clear, compelling story. Because a strategy nobody can execute isn’t a strategy—and a process with no ambition behind it is just administration.

01
Brand & Strategy

Defining or evolving the brand—from positioning, narrative, and audience strategy to the business and marketing plan that moves it forward.

02
Team & Operations

Building or strengthening the people, processes, and workflows that turn ambition into consistent execution—from planning and capacity to creative operations and AI-enabled ways of working.

03
Narrative & Pitch

Making complex thinking clear, compelling, and built to move people—from executive narratives and decks to pitches, RFPs, and campaign platforms.

Case Studies

What I’ve
helped build.

Seven pivotal moments—each requiring a brand, team, or operating model to evolve. Explore the challenge, the transformation, and the impact behind each one.

Chime
Director, Brand + Creative Operations · 2025–2026

Rebuilt the planning, intake, and delivery systems for a 32-person creative organization—introducing AI-enabled workflows and supporting the brand’s journey toward IPO.

View the Work →
DesignScene
Global Managing Director · 2023–2024

Rebuilt the leadership structure and operating model for a 40-person global agency—strengthening the team behind award-winning work for leading brands.

View the Work →
Twitter
Managing Director, Studio · 2020–2022

Restructured and refocused an 80-person organization into a more agile, connected 60-person creative studio trusted across the business.

View the Work →
Stitch Fix
VP, Brand + Creative · 2015–2018

Built the in-house brand and creative organization from the ground up—helping support the company’s growth from $335M to $1B in revenue on its journey to IPO.

View the Work →
Yahoo
Sr. Director, Brand Creative Group · 2013–2015

Built a new internal-agency model connecting product, marketing, UX, and creative—and led a 40-person team through a pivotal period of brand reinvention.

View the Work →
Adidas
Marketing Director, North America Retail · 2012–2013

Led a 40-person retail marketing organization and helped sharpen adidas’s competitive position across the U.S. market.

View the Work →
77Kids
Marketing Director, American Eagle · 2008–2012

Launched and scaled a startup children’s brand within American Eagle—combining grassroots, digital, and experiential marketing to build awareness and growth.

View the Work →

"Brand strategy with nothing behind it is a document.
An operating model with nothing in front of it is admin.
I build both, at the same time."

Brand · Marketing · Creative · Production · Operations

Independent Consulting

Across different chapters,
CA/360.

Across several chapters of my career, CA/360 has been the platform for my independent consulting and project work—bringing brand strategy, creative leadership, and operational expertise directly to founders, executives, and teams at pivotal moments.

Amazon Live Nation Citi Google Nielsen Pinterest Zillow Vox Vice Calvin Klein Beautycon Cardi B

Through CA/360, I’ve led strategy, creative direction, and delivery for high-profile campaigns, brand activations, and transformation initiatives—working as an extension of the teams I support, never simply as an outside vendor.

Explore the Work →
Selected Decks

And when the thinking
has to win the room.

Decks are my love language. These twelve pitches, strategies, and project stories span different clients, industries, briefs, and stakes—but each does the same essential job: turns complex thinking into a clear story that aligns people and moves an idea forward.

Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit 2025
01
Event Strategy - RFP Response

Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit 2025

"Reimagining a 27-year legacy - one powerful idea at a time."

View case →
Cardi B: Legacy Ten
02
Brand Strategy - Business Plan

Cardi B: Legacy Ten

"A 10-year roadmap for a billion-dollar brand - built on data, delivered with swagger."

View case →
Pinterest at CES 2024
03
Brand Experience - RFP Response

Pinterest at CES 2024

"Turning Pinterest's biggest idea into the most talked-about space at CES."

View case →
Coca-Cola × FIFA World Cup 2026
04
Global Activation - RFP Response

Coca-Cola × FIFA World Cup 2026

"16 cities. 3 countries. One brand that owned the World Cup."

View case →
BeautyUnited Weekend
05
Brand Concept - Entertainment Pitch

BeautyUnited Weekend

"When the beauty industry needed saving, we built the party that saved it."

View case →
a16z Connect / Fintech 2024
06
Executive Summit - RFP Response

a16z Connect / Fintech 2024

"Three worlds. One summit. Zero reasons to leave."

View case →
VS / Forward
07
Brand Strategy - Unsolicited POV

VS / Forward

"A 360° blueprint for the brand that needed to change or die - before anyone asked for one."

View case →
Calvin Klein Summit 2022
08
Internal Summit - Proposal

Calvin Klein Summit 2022

"The reunion a global brand needed - designed from the inside out."

View case →
The Nielsen House at Cannes 2026
09
Cannes Presence - RFP Response

The Nielsen House at Cannes 2026

"The industry comes to Cannes. The industry came to Nielsen."

View case →
Gamma × NYC Tech Week 2026
10
Brand Experience - Concept Pitch

Gamma × NYC Tech Week 2026

"A week-long takeover that turned a product into a cultural moment."

View case →
Zillow Unlock & Flex 2025
11
Conference - RFP Response

Zillow Unlock & Flex 2025

"Two events. One story. An entire industry reminded why they chose Zillow."

View case →
Google Pixel 3 Music Festival Activation cover
12
Experiential · Google

Google Pixel 3 Music Festival Activation

"Three festivals. Four immersive rooms. One phone that stole the show."

View case →

Case studies available in full on request. Select clients held in confidence.

Testimonials

From the people
I’ve built with.

Clients, leaders, peers, and teammates—on what I bring to the work, the team, and the room.

"I've had the privilege of working alongside Cristina Angeli for years, and I can say without hesitation: she is the ideal partner for any CMO. Cristina is the rare operator who combines strategic clarity with true hands-on execution. She assesses a challenge quickly, rallies a team around clear business objectives, and keeps everyone focused and accountable until the results speak for themselves. She is, quite simply, the yin to my yang. Any marketing leader would be lucky to have her in their corner."

Lisa Licht, CMO and Brand-Led Operating Executive

"Cristina is the rarest of gems: brilliant, articulate, visionary and a great leader. As an industry colleague, I rely on her for always-excellent advice and for her insane ability to recommend the right person for the right job at the right time. She is a magnet for talent, deeply generous, beloved by her team (I know this from former team members) and a deep thinker. Cristina's grasp of brand, customer experience, and digital marketing is without peer — and her fashion/design sense drives fresh, creative and even breakthrough thinking. Companies looking to build enduring love brands should look no further than Cristina and her company."

Jaleh Bisharat, CEO/Co-Founder, Tech & Marketplace CMO

"It's been a privilege to work alongside Cristina during our time together at DesignScene. Without a doubt, she stands out as one of the most exceptional leaders I've had the pleasure of knowing. Cristina consistently offers strong support, remarkable strategic and creative acumen, and I have never seen anyone at this leadership level to roll up her sleeves and dive into any aspect of the business the way she does, whether it's to support the design, finance, HR team, or beyond. This really sets her apart at every turn."

Sophie Billi-Hardwick, Global Chief Growth Officer — DesignScene

"Cristina's the partner and teammate you dream of. She possesses an uncanny ability to synthesize the most complex information into absolute clarity — identifying root-cause problems, but also solutions that can be implemented now, next week, and next year. She works across domains, connecting Creatives, Ops, Data, Marketers, and C-Suite and does it with honesty and empathy."

Nick Doulos, Strategy + Operations Director — Chime

How I Work

An ongoing partner,
or a defining moment
that has to land.

Two ways to work together—depending on what the moment requires.

Ongoing Partnership

Fractional Brand, Creative &
Operations Partner

For founders and teams who need embedded strategic and operational leadership—not simply another one-off deliverable.

Typically includes

  • A regular strategy cadence across brand, team, and operations

  • Ongoing guidance across brand, marketing, creative, and business priorities

  • Team, process, and workflow assessment—with practical solutions as the business grows

  • Critical narratives, presentations, and strategic deliverables as needed

Ongoing partnerships typically begin with a focused 90-day engagement, with the option to continue monthly.

Start a Conversation
Project Engagement

A High-Stakes Initiative
That Has to Land

For a pitch, launch, transformation, or defining initiative that needs clear thinking, strong orchestration, and exceptional execution.

Typically includes

  • Strategy and narrative architecture for the initiative

  • Leadership across strategists, creatives, partners, and stakeholders

  • Development of the presentation, campaign, RFP response, or experience itself

  • Executive alignment and preparation to help the work win the room

I take on a limited number of projects at a time so each receives the focus it deserves.

Tell Me About the Project
Cristina Angeli
About

20+ years.
One consistent
obsession.

I’ve spent more than two decades at the intersection of brand, strategy, creative, and operations. The thread through all of it is simple: making complex things clear—and making clear ideas land.

I’ve led teams, built brands, directed strategy, shaped creative work, and redesigned how organizations get things done. Today, I bring that full range to founders, executives, and growing teams—as an embedded partner or for high-stakes projects that need to move.

I’m at my best when the brief is hard, the timeline is tight, and the stakes are real. That space between strategy and execution—where someone needs to hold the whole picture and ensure every part is working together—is where I do my best work.

Clarity Over Complexity

Turning complicated challenges into a focused path forward.

Strategy Through Execution

Connecting the big idea to the plan, people, and process behind it.

Creative + Operational Thinking

Balancing what’s inspiring with what can actually be built.

The Whole Picture

Seeing across brands, teams, channels, and business priorities.

Calm in the Chaos

Creating clarity, momentum, and accountability when the pressure is on.

Team Love

Building ambitious teams with care, candor, focus, and a sense of humor.

Work With Me

Let’s build
what’s next.

Whether you need an embedded partner across brand, team, and operations—or experienced leadership for a pitch, launch, or high-stakes initiative—I’d like to hear what you’re building.

Ongoing partnerships typically begin with a focused 90-day engagement. I take on a limited number of projects at a time so each one gets the attention—and momentum—it deserves.

ca@ca360brandworks.com