Lizzy Bilasano

About Lizzy Bilasano

Hi, I\'m Lizzy: an ever-curious, multi-hyphenate, creative kid of the Internet living in Brooklyn, NY. 🤙 I live for the uncomfortable middle: misfit ideas, unlikely collaborators, and beautiful creative chaos. Most people want to clean that up fast. My superpower is harnessing it and turning it into work that moves culture while driving revenue and commercial impact.By day, I\'m the Head of Creative Strategy at Whalar, where I lead a kind, relentlessly curious, and creative cross-disciplinary team shaping how brands and creators build culture together. I work upstream with C-Suite leaders at Fortune 500 companies, helping them see creator-led work beyond a tactic and as a core business strategy. I\'ve spent my time at Whalar helping brands like The Estée Lauder Companies, Nike, LVMH, HP, and the NFL craft stories and creative strategies that actually feel human.I got here in a non-linear way. I started out as a hip-hop dancer, artistic director, and creator, performing across the country while running operations and marketing for a dance company — all while juggling several creative side projects. That chapter taught me how to choreograph movement, as well as ideas and teams of people.At Whalar, I\'ve built and scaled the creative strategy discipline from the ground up, growing the team by 5x and introducing new functions like Cultural and Creator Strategy. I led the development of our ownable framework, a new lens to view the 4C\'s with a community-first approach that anchors everything we make. I\'ve played a key strategic and creative role in securing our largest global AOR wins, and led the creative strategy for some of Whalar\'s most notable projects.Outside the office, I\'m an active speaker, juror, and thought leader on the future of creativity, culture, and community. I\'ve spoken at SXSW, Cannes Lions, Advertising Week, and guest lectured at universities on the creator economy. I\'ve served on creative juries for The Shorty Impact Awards, The Webbys, and The Drum, championing work that redefines who gets to create and what creative leadership looks like.I never saw myself reflected in leadership roles growing up, so I\'ve made it my mission to help change that. Whether through mentorship, speaking, or advocacy, I\'m committed to creating more space for women of color & historically underestimated communities in creativity and brand marketing.Don\'t just take my word on any of this though. My past/present colleagues, peers, and direct reports can tell you more. Their recommendations are at the bottom of my LinkedIn profile

Experience

1. Head of Creative Strategy

   Whalar

   Nov 2024 — Present · New York, NY, US

   Promoted to Vice President of Creative Strategy, North America in November of 2022, and now Head of Creative Strategy at Whalar—recognized as Adweek\'s 2x Creator/Social Agency of the Year and 2x Ad Age Social Media/Influencer Agency of the Year. In 2025, we swept every major Creator/Social Agency of The Year award (NBD). Reporting directly to the Co-CEO, and part of the agency’s Executive Leadership, I get to lead a cross-disciplinary team of creative, cultural, and creator strategists, creative directors, and designers - developing innovative, creator-centric strategies across industry verticals. As a badged partner of TikTok, YouTube, Meta, Snap, LinkedIn, iHeart, and Tribeca Film Festival, we bridge creators, culture, and communities in the most creative ways with brands and platforms.Our key clients include: Amazon, Nestlé Health Sciences, Spotify, Waymo, HP, The Estée Lauder Companies, and more. New Business Wins and Leadership:A key leader of Whalar’s new business engine, driving strategic growth and high-profile partnerships.Notable new biz wins include: 2023: Nike (Global), T-Mobile, Turo2024: Mark Anthony Group, Apple Creator AOR (Mac), Nestlé Health Sciences Creator AOR, HP (Global)2025: Zillow Group Creator AOR2026: Target Creator AOR

Education

• Pace University - Lubin School of Business

  Global Marketing Management; Economics

• Harvard Business School

  WOC Executive Leadership Program, May 2022 Inaugural Cohort