Personal information
Peter John Comber is an expert in applied creativity, with more than thirty years of professional experience that also includes a deep understanding of qualitative research, strategic planning and international management.
He is the author of ‘The Forces of Collaborative Creativity’ a step-by-step guide to the use of Collaborative Creativity, which includes: the five forces that influence change; the eight principles of Collaborative Creativity; descriptions of case histories; supporting bibliographic references and numerous examples of creative exercises.
Born and raised in South East England, Peter has lived most of his life in Italy and for brief periods in various corners of the globe.
For the last fifteen years, his focus has been in the healthcare sector. His qualitative research work has been published in scientific journals and he has helped numerous pharmaceutical companies solve problems. Today, he particularly enjoys using Collaborative Creativity to design Patient Support Programmes.
Working experience
October 2016 – Present
Founder Partner and President of Atstrat
Atstrat employs Collaborative Creativity to solve problems, applying it primarily to strategic consulting and patient support programmes. Atstrat provides efficient and effective solutions to clients through collective, co-creative, aspirational thinking.
Clients include: Angelini, BioMarin, Gilead, IBSA, Fondazione FARO.
April 2013 – October 2016
Brand strategy and communication consultant
A freelance consultant, provided; brand analysis, competitive assessment, strategy workshop ideation and moderation, the ideation of communication strategies and concepts predominantly for pharmaceutical, healthcare companies and NGOs.
Clients included: Gilead, inVentiv Health, ThePatientExperienceProject, Sigma Tau International, FESCA, IBSA, Fondazione FARO.
December 2009 – April 2013
Chief Creative Officer - inVentiv Health Communications Europe
Member of the European management team with direct responsibility for strategic planning and the creative department, across Europe. Frequently involved as European lead person in the acquisition, development and implementation of global accounts. Also in charge of internal agency process alignment and development and EU staff training.
Clients included: GSK, Daiichi Sankyo, Merck Serono, Gilead, Ipsen.
June 2005 – December 2009
Founding partner and vice-president - DWA Health
In 2003, Peter began a collaboration with GSW, a US based company and the largest independent pharmaceutical agency in the world. In June 2005, he founded an Italian company with inVentiv (holding company owner of GSW) and DWA, his employer, as partners. Responsible for startup organization, strategy and creativity. The agency grew rapidly and was wholly acquired by inVentiv in 2009.
Clients included: Novartis, Boiron, Eli Lilly, Johnson&Johnson.
January 2001 – December 2009
Founding partner and CEO - Ottovolante
His personal interest in the Internet became an area of professional growth, starting in 1995 when he created his first commercial web site, for sports goods brand Invicta. This early start led to many more opportunities and in January 2001 he founded Ottovolante, a web agency, with DWA as a partner. A succesful venture that produced many innovative digital projects, Ottovolante merged with another digital agency when Peter needed to dedicate himself exclusively to his demanding role at inVentiv Health.
Clients included: American Airlines, Ferrero Kinder Surprise, Huhtamaki and Versace.
October 1987 – December 2008
Art Director then Creative Director - DWA
His experience in DWA, over 21 years, covered multiple product categories and every kind of media. He coordinated and organized work teams and in some cases (especially international accounts where his language skills were an advantage) ran the account directly with the client. The following are a selection of particularly significant experiences:
Kinder Surprise - Six years of creation, prototyping and testing of characters and concept materials for the worldwide production of Kinder Surprise special series characters for Ferrero, through their MPG division.
Warsteiner - Five years of executive management of the Warsteiner beer account in Italy working directly with the client marketing department in Germany. Included media planning and buying (TV, radio and print), consumer promotions and special live events.
Sanpaolo IMI - Seven years of creation of advertising and product sales tools for many financial products of Sanpaolo IMI (now Intesa Sanpaolo bank).
July 1984 – September 1987
Junior Art Director - DMB&B
Peter joined Benton&Bowles (that, while he was there, became DMB&B after merging with D’Arcy, McManus & Massius) and worked predominantly on FIAT automobile advertising and promotional materials, including dealership advertising.
June 1983 – June 1984
Graphic designer - Viva Adv
His first experience in advertising, concentrating on graphic design and packaging.
Education
Sole24Ore Business School, Milan in 2016: Master in Social Media Communication
Chatham House Grammar School, Ramsgate, UK from 1977 to 1983: Attended until completion of seven Cambridge O Level exams
Languages
English and Italian: Excellent, both spoken and written.
French: Elementary proficiency
IT skills
Very proficient with Apple computers and devices, Microsoft Office and various professional programmes including Adobe Creative Suite.
Hobbies and interests
Restoring his Alpine chalet.
Literature, music, cooking, modern and contemporary art.
Objectives/aspirations
Complete and publish both the books that he is working on, a dramatic novel and a book on graphic design in collaboration with many of the world’s leading designers.
Learn to play guitar.