Chris Irwin
Chris Irwin reflected in a curved C-shaped mirror sculpture in a gallery, taking a photo of it, with the words Do you know Chris Irwin?

Do you know Chris Irwin?

Of course I know him.
He's me.

Hi, I'm Chris Irwin. Creative, leader, marketer. I grew up with a paintbrush in my hand and stumbled into graphic design somewhere between a fine arts degree and figuring out what I actually wanted to do with my life. Turns out, I wanted to do all of it.

Today I lead Brand & Creative for Barclays U.S. Consumer Bank, a team of 43 people spanning brand, social, sponsorships, and internal creative, plus five agency partners I work with every day. I report to the CMO and spend most of my time thinking about how brands show up in the market, how it connects to the business, and how to build an environment where people do their best work.

Before Barclays, I spent seven years at Capital One, where I helped introduce their savings product to the nation, then led the creative strategy for the national banking launch across six markets. That one still means a lot to me. We took a company known for credit cards and helped it become something bigger. I also ended up as the creative lead for Capital One Arena for most of my time there, which nobody planned. It just kept finding me. I'll take that as a compliment.

Some things I'm proud of along the way:

  1. Launched GM's co-brand card with a positioning no one had defined yet, and watched it land 19% above acquisition forecast.
  2. Contributed to creative strategy supporting Barclays' $25B cumulative deposit milestone: 20% year-on-year growth, with the final $1B closed in just 59 days.
  3. Took a team with a 53% satisfaction score and got it to 84%. Not through programs, through leadership.
  4. Developed the brand standards framework that let Capital One's business units build their own creative identities without drifting from the core.
  5. Was consistently the person sponsorship leads called when they needed a creative gut check: from MLB to the Final Four.

Throughout nearly two decades, I've written briefs and blown up briefs. I've led photo shoots, presented to C-suites, built creative systems from scratch, and coached people through the kind of career moments that actually matter. I've managed budgets, agencies, contractors, and the occasional difficult conversation nobody else wanted to have.

I'm still a creative at heart. I just happen to also know how to run the business.