Luc de Tillesse, Leader of The Crew: I run a communications agency at an age when many people have already left the profession behind. In our industry, that may seem unusual. What it really gives me is a particular perspective: the ability to look at our business with a little more distance, a little less agitation, and a greater focus on what truly matters.

Over time, I have come to a simple conviction: the value of an agency is not measured solely by its ability to generate ideas. It is measured by its ability to create meaning, develop talent, cultivate stability, and create the conditions in which a good idea can emerge, take shape, and become useful for a brand.

That is how I see my role today.

I am more in the background and less in the spotlight. My work is essentially about helping to clarify what we want to say, supporting the people who lead projects, encouraging initiative, and helping everyone grow in their profession. I believe strongly in this. An agency is not defined only by what it produces. It is also defined by what it enables.

What we are looking for today, it seems to me, is creativity that helps people move forward. Creativity that clarifies, engages, and creates preference. Creativity that finds the right tone.

That is why I believe in a positive approach to creativity.

The word may sound simple. It is not. By “positive,” I do not mean “soft” or “without edge.” I mean creativity that strengthens rather than exhausts. That attracts without attacking. That leaves a mark without overplaying its hand. That allows a brand to exist coherently in an environment where everything encourages the fragmentation of messages across increasingly isolated communities.

For me, that is where the real work of an agency begins.

Today’s marketing leaders operate under constant pressure. They must move quickly, make trade-offs, persuade internal stakeholders, preserve brand consistency, and respond to commercial, reputational, and societal expectations that are often contradictory. In this context, they do not simply need a supplier of ideas. They need a thoughtful, responsible partner one capable of understanding complexity without dramatizing it.

At our agency, there is another human reality that profoundly influences the way we work: our team is largely female and multicultural. I do not present this as a banner or a statement. But any team shapes a culture—a way of collaborating, listening, distributing energy, and making room for individuality without losing sight of the collective. This reality gives our work a particular tone. Perhaps more attentive. More supportive as well.

And that word supportive matters to me.

It is rarely used when talking about agencies. Yet it touches on something essential. A team does not move forward simply because of the talent within it. It moves forward when those talents find a way to work together. When egos do not dominate the field. When strengths complement one another. When trust encourages initiative. When high standards do not stifle, but elevate.

I do not believe there is only one good model. But I believe in this one: a model where value does not primarily depend on size, volume, or self-promotion. A model that seeks less to impress than to build something fair, solid, and sustainable. A model where experience is not used to occupy center stage, but to pass on knowledge, provide support, and help other talents fully step into their roles.

Ultimately, that may be what matters most to me today: seeing people grow as much as projects.

I do not idealize anything. An agency remains an agency: it requires ideas, decisions, deadlines met, choices made, and quality delivered at every stage. But I am convinced that the culture in which we work always finds its way into what we create.

I do not know whether that makes an agency different. But I do know that, for some clients, it makes it more useful.

And that is probably the only definition that still matters to me today.