A copywriter who cut his teeth at two of the UK's agency 'universities', Ogilvy and BMP, Collister says the core of his current role is to "bring ad thinking to Google" and help its in-house client-facing work closer with agencies. Among his many roles in advertising before joining Google in 2013, he was creative director at Ogilvy and Mather and, in his own words, "executive bloody idiot" at EHS Brann. He has also run his own creative consultancy, and a magazine and archive focused on unearthing examples of innovation in direct marketing from around the world. On his LinkedIn profile, he has 91 endorsements for copywriting, and 71 for direct marketing.