Industry’s Top Health Creative Jason Graff named Global CCO of VML Health
VML Health today announced the appointment of Jason Graff as Global Chief Creative Officer, further cementing its position as one of the world’s most creative health agencies. Based in New York, Graff will oversee VML Health’s global creative vision across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, advancing the agency’s Human First creative philosophy across its life science and health clients.
Graff takes the reins from Mel Routhier, who has led VML Health’s creative team for the past two years as she transitions into her role as VML Co-CCO, North America. Graff will also join the VML Creative Council lead by VML Global CCO Debbi Vandeven.
Graff will lead VML Health’s specialist health creative network spanning life sciences, pharma, HCP, DTC and consumer health. He will partner with client and strategy teams, business transformation, production, innovation, technology and creative leaders across VML Health, VML and WPP to bring together AI‑driven innovation, science and creativity for health brands navigating industry‑wide transformation.
Graff joins VML Health from AREA 23, New York, where he served as EVP, Executive Creative Director for nearly a decade. Recognized as one of the most awarded creatives in healthcare, he has been ranked #1 Executive Creative Director in the world by The One Club, #2 ECD in the world by The Drum. Over the past nine years, he has amassed 30 Cannes Lions (including two Grand Prix), 50 One Show Pencils (including Best in Discipline), 49 London International Awards (including two Grand LIAs), 41 CLIOs (including two Grand CLIOs), and 17 D&AD Pencils, helping define the creative benchmark for modern health marketing.
Graff’s career has spanned both consumer and health. Before joining AREA 23, he held Executive Creative Director roles at Publicis and the Kaplan Thaler Group, earning recognition on brands including Wendy’s, Trojan Condoms and Abbott Nutrition. It was his work on Similac’s “Sisterhood of Motherhood” campaign, created to expose unnecessary and toxic “mommy judgment” and champion healing and acceptance, that set him on a path to focus on brands that make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.
His experience spans rare disease, immunology and respiratory care, oncology, neuroscience, ophthalmology, diabetes, metabolic disease and vaccines, working with many of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including Pfizer, GSK, Amgen, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly. Beyond health, Graff has led integrated work for major FMCG and consumer brands such as Wendy’s, General Mills, Kraft, Office Depot and Tide, bringing a broader brand‑building perspective to his health leadership.
He is also a regular presence on the global awards circuit, having judged The One Show, CLIO Awards, London International Awards, New York Festivals and The Creative Floor, and is deeply committed to developing the next generation of creative leaders through ongoing mentoring and craft‑focused programs.
Jason Graff, Global Chief Creative Officer, VML Health:
“I’ve always taken a long view of my career and my agency homes. I’m a builder. I spend years building trust, momentum, and cultures of ambition, where people push each other to do the best work of their lives. I only move when it feels genuinely right. Health is one of the most creatively rewarding spaces in our industry, and VML Health’s culture and philosophy, combined with deep scientific credibility at a global scale, makes this move one of those rare moments. The opportunity to help shape the future of health creativity by bringing together science, deeply human storytelling, technology and innovation with emotional and physical utility is enormously exciting."
Debbi Vandeven, Global Chief Creative Officer, VML:
“Jason is one of the defining creative voices in health today. As we continue to scale VML Health as one of the industry’s most comprehensive Human First health creative powerhouses, his leadership in Health will be pivotal in unlocking our full integrated power and pushing the industry forward.”
Claire Gillis, CEO, VML Health:
“Jason joining VML Health is a statement in its own right. He’s not just one of the most awarded creatives in health; he’s someone who has consistently changed what clients believe is possible in this category. His experience across high‑science brands, his instinct for powerful stories and his track record in both health and FMCG make him the ideal leader for our Human First creative mantra. Our clients are asking for bigger, braver ideas that still respect the realities of medicine and regulation and Jason is uniquely equipped to deliver that.”
