Emily Bruce Plumb, Principal

The through-line of my career is building what didn't exist before.

At L.L.Bean, I spent sixteen years transforming how a 110-year-old company approached brand and creative, most recently as Vice President of Creative leading a 90-person organization across a $1.5B global business. I built an in-house agency, relocated and reimagined the photo studio, ran two organizational redesigns that saved millions and earned some of the company's highest employee engagement scores, and produced award-winning advertising and social campaigns (YouTube Works Awards, Kantar Creative Effectiveness top 10).

Before that, I built global ecommerce for M·A·C Cosmetics and launched an analytics function for Estée Lauder across its 18 brands. I've lived inside two startups, one with a successful exit and one without.

Along the way, I've also taken on passion projects: editing Glenn Close's dog blog during a startup stint, running business development for Washington Baths Sauna's first phase, and supporting a major conservation organization through a brand redesign.

Outside of work, I've brought that same orientation to nonprofit boards. I spent twelve years with SPACE Gallery as a volunteer, trustee, and eventually board chair. I now serve on the board of Maine Coast Heritage Trust, where I chair the governance committee, work I find deeply meaningful because it's about how boards run well and grow with integrity.

What I've learned across my work: the problems worth solving rarely stand alone. A brand problem is often a systems problem. A creative problem is often a leadership problem. I look for the obstruction underneath the frustration, often by asking what needs aren’t being met. I’ve put years into mindfulness, Nonviolent Communication, and conflict resolution, which turns out to be most of what untying a knot requires.

I’m a strategist who has run the thing: programs, budgets, cross-functional teams, a whole department. I love spreadsheets as much as storyboards. I see the big picture and the fine details, and I can speak to both. The studio is named for the first. The work is in the second. I lead people and organizations through transitions, redesigns, and scale shifts, and if you want, I stay on to see the plan through.

I live in Portland, Maine with my husband, our four children, a fancy cat, and a scruffy, sweet dog. I write poems, swim in the ocean, move and meditate, make things with my hands, and take in all the art I can. I write about the work inside work at Big Picture Thoughts, my Substack.

Big Picture Studio exists for one thing: getting what you care about most out in the world where people can see it. A plan the board votes on. A brand people recognize. A pitch that gets funded. I find what's stuck. I build the way through.

Headshot used with permission: Winky Lewis