Creative Capes · 2026-04-22 · 1h 7m
Nearly 30 years ago, James Hilton answered an ad in Creative Review, met a stranger named Ajaz Ahmed, and they signed Virgin as their first client. That was the beginning of AKQA. AKQA went on to win Grand Prix Cannes Lions, James was named the UK's number one digital creative director three times, and they were acquired by WPP for around $550 million. He also made the Creativity 50 alongside Jonathan Ive and Lady Gaga. What followed was a design studio, a custom motorcycle brand featured by Netflix and Top Gear, a Chief Creative Officer role at Native, and now a position inside Abbott, helping a 100,000-person healthcare company grow. James invited Future London Academy to his home outside London to chat about his journey. And if you are curious about our Executive Programme for Design Leader that James teaches on, you can find more information here: 00:00:00 - Meet James Hilton - The Design Leader Who Built AKQA Into a 6,000-Person Agency 00:01:00 - Selling AKQA for £340M 00:04:00 - What made AKQA succeed: obsession, craft & hiring people smarter than you 00:09:00 - The founder's paradox: staying in the work vs.
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