Ioana Filip

Founder and Chief Creative Officer, International Waters

Ioana Filip is the founder and chief creative officer of International Waters, a global creative company reimagining how world-class creative work is built and delivered. After nearly two decades leading some of the world’s most awarded agencies across Chicago, London and Europe, she founded International Waters to prove that exceptional global creativity isn’t confined to a handful of industry capitals. Her vision is to redefine creative diversity by changing where talent is sourced, how teams are built, and where world-class creativity comes from.  
 
Founded in April 2025, International Waters has rapidly grown into one of the industry’s fastest-rising independent agencies. Built around its proprietary “chartered creativity” model – a global network of senior specialists assembled specifically for each client challenge – the company works across Europe and the United States for brands including The Coca-Cola Company, SC Johnson, Lidl, Deep Health and more. In 2026, the company expanded its leadership into the United Kingdom, strengthening its presence in Europe’s most important global market. 
 
Before founding International Waters, Ioana held executive creative leadership positions at McCann Worldgroup, Energy BBDO and MRM. As Chief Creative Officer of MRM London, she transformed the agency’s creative offering before being promoted to Global Executive Creative Director at McCann Worldgroup. At Energy BBDO in Chicago, she redefined the agency’s creative structure by building an integrated content and social ecosystem that brought together creators, filmmakers, photographers, musicians and influencers alongside traditional creative teams. 
 
Throughout her career, Ioana has led work for global brands including The Coca-Cola Company, SC Johnson, Vodafone and Reckitt Benckiser. Her work has earned more than 190 international awards, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, Clio, Webby, Eurobest and Effie recognitions. She ranked among The One Show’s Top 10 Executive Creative Directors in the U.S. in 2022 and Top 20 in 2023, and has judged every major international creative award show. 
 
A published author and advocate for the intersection of creativity and artificial intelligence, Ioana studied AI at MIT and has advised startups through leading innovation communities including Chicago’s 1871. She continues to speak internationally on creativity, leadership and the future of agency models.