The Nomad S5: Xuan Pham

Xuan Pham, Executive Creative Director at Prime Video Europe, embraces being weird.

Describing himself as a geek, Xuan Pham has been a huge fan of Street Fighter since he was nine years old. He even competed in some tournaments when he was about 14 years old. But it isn’t just gaming. “I love diving deep into things I’m passionate about, whether it’s technology, creativity, or just exploring new ideas,” he says.

That curiosity or geekiness has been carried out throughout his career, too. He believes that learning, which goes far beyond school, never stops. He plans to keep learning for his entire life.

Pham joined Universal as a Web designer Intern. Fast-forward to 2025, and the current Executive Creative Director at Amazon Prime Video Europe, who has produced marketing campaigns across 20 countries for the company, has lived on four continents and in five countries. He has learned, worked, led, and built creative teams in companies such as Dentsu Isobar, Grey, Publicis, R/GA, Fred&Farid, and Google.

His career is nothing short of impressive — and inspiring. In the creative industry where people of colour are not a dime in a dozen — and creatives of Asian descent are even few and far between, he has made a name for himself full of accolades and accomplishments.

But he believes in his superpower of being weird. “I think embracing your quirks and being unapologetically yourself is what makes life interesting,” he says earnestly.

He is still playing Street Fighter, albeit not as often as he now has two young children keeping him busy. “It has always been a favourite of mine—it’s been a great way to disconnect from everything else. I’ve had to slow down on Street Fighter a bit but hopefully, one day I can play with my children.”

Your career is full of interesting anecdotes: You created fake VIP passes at the Formula 1 Grand Prix with front row seat eating sushi next to Rihanna, George Lucas and Hugh Jackman; you blew up a car while live streaming it to the world; you participated in a reality TV about marketing; you created a toy brand to educate children on plastic pollution. What does “the impossible” mean to you creatively?

Please don’t put me in jail for those Grand Prix VIP passes —just kidding.

Creatively, I like to experiment. I’m often drawn to skills or projects where I’m not sure if I can actually deliver. There have been many times, even after 20 years in the industry, where I’ve taken on projects thinking, I might fail at this. Honestly, I still feel uncomfortable sometimes—there's a bit of anxiety where I’m like, Oh my God, I’m not sure I can pull this off. But I still go for it. I do expect failure, but luckily, I want to succeed, and when it works, it’s incredibly rewarding.

So I try not to overthink it too much because when you do, fear can creep in. I’d rather just commit and go for it—by the time you realise, it’s too late to roll back anyway. Sometimes, it really is just about committing to the impossible.

Does this boldness reflect your general approach to life and creativity?

I’d say boldness definitely reflects my approach to life and creativity. Most of the time, there’s no gradual transition—I can wake up one day with a completely new obsession. When that happens, I dive in fully. I’m a geek about it—I’ll read, study, and explore it passionately, whether it’s mastering a new skill, taking on a challenge, booking a last-minute trip, or even moving across continents.

It’s that all-in mindset, no matter the scale, that drives me. And honestly, ‘crazy’ is probably the word my girlfriend uses most often to describe me.

What does good “creative” look like?

If you ask 10 different people, you’ll get 10 different answers. There’s no perfect definition of what good creative is—I’m sure you’ve experienced that too, right?

I’m not sure I have the right answer either, but I’d say context really matters. Good creative in art might be very different from good creative in marketing. In art, the main goal might be to provoke an emotion, whereas in marketing, there’s often a commercial intent behind it as well.

I remember someone once told me that good creative should make people feel something, make people think something, and make people do something. I really like the simplicity of that definition, and I’ve tried to apply it throughout my career. It seems to work."

Having worked and lived on four continents, how would you reflect on the cultural differences that you have encountered so far, personally and professionally? If there have been any challenges, how did you overcome them?

It's about being curious, right? Just moving to a different country already requires curiosity and openness. Cultural differences have taught me that unlearning is essential. I’m constantly challenging what I assume is right or wrong, and living around the world has definitely given me more perspective.

Now, on the topic of languages and identity—I was born with a double culture, half French and half Vietnamese. Because of that, I grew up often questioning where I truly belonged. Am I really French? Am I really Vietnamese? I wasn’t sure. So I decided to create my own identity, blending the parts I love from French, Vietnamese, Canadian, Australian, Chinese, and British cultures.

This idea of unlearning has been key for me. I used to obsess over learning new things, but I’ve realised how often I need to unlearn habits too. For example, when I moved from Australia to China, I tried applying Australian ways of communicating, assuming they were the ‘right’ way. But they didn’t translate culturally. I had to unlearn that approach and adapt to the Chinese way of connecting with people. The same thing happened when I moved to the UK—what worked in China didn’t quite fit the British culture either.

So it’s a constant process of asking myself: ‘What do I need to learn? What do I need to unlearn?’ That cycle never stops.

How do you approach your creative work generally?

My approach to creative work always starts with truly understanding the audience—what they care about, what matters to them—because I don’t want to waste their time. It’s a two-way conversation. I always ask myself: do I have something meaningful to tell them? And if so, how exactly do I want to communicate?

I always start with the customer and work backwards from there. It never begins with, 'Let’s push a product,' like giving away shampoo or selling a washing machine. It’s about figuring out if there’s something I can share that could have an impact on their life, even in a small way. Can I make them smile? Think? Feel something? It goes back to the idea that good creative should make people feel, think, and do something.

How has your nomadic journey influenced your creative approach, particularly when leading campaigns for diverse markets (20 markets?) of Prime Video Europe ?

I think my nomadic journey has really helped me understand different audiences better. It’s allowed me to see both the commonalities and the cultural nuances that set them apart. That understanding has been key in creating campaigns that feel more culturally relevant—for both the audience and the companies behind them.

Ultimately, I believe everything comes down to user experience. It’s about how someone reacts when they see a tagline, watch a film, view and, or experience a piece of art. Every interaction is shaped by that experience. And to create the best user experience, I need to deeply understand different cultures and audiences. My nomadic background has definitely made me more aware of that.

You started your career in web design, right? Is that where the obsession with customer journey and user experience came from?

Yes, that's true. My focus on user experience really started when I was a web designer, working on user interfaces—which are very much part of the broader user experience. I was obsessed with making information as accessible as possible. My goal was always to help customers find what they needed in as few clicks as possible. It wasn’t just about making a website or app pretty; it was about solving a problem. How could I simplify the journey and remove friction if they needed to find a product or specific information? That customer-first mindset has stayed with me throughout my creative career.

What’s been your most challenging or rewarding project to date, and what did it teach you about storytelling?

One of my most challenging yet rewarding projects was launching the first-ever Christmas campaign for Prime Video a couple of years ago. Prime Video is a storytelling platform—we make films, series, and documentaries—so I thought, why shouldn’t we tell our own Christmas story? The result was a TV commercial called Unlikely Friendship, featuring a zookeeper who kidnaps a hyena. It was one of the weirdest stories I've ever told, and I loved that people embraced it. The fact that audiences connected with something so unusual reminded me that there's space for all kinds of stories—'weird' is good. Weird makes life less boring.

The project was also incredibly challenging from a production standpoint. Many brands spend nearly a year crafting their Christmas campaigns, but we had just 10 weeks. We were the very last brand to release a Christmas ad that year—after iconic campaigns from John Lewis, Disney, and Apple. It wasn’t strategic timing; I took on the project late, and we had to race against the clock. I’m still amazed we pulled it off in such a short timeframe.

Balancing such a bold creative idea with the pressure of a fast turnaround was a huge learning experience.

When we’re at the topic of storytelling and its future, AI - especially its application on creative outputs, seems to be on everyone’s mind. But you have been at the forefront of it by having AI as imaginary friends since 2017 when Google hired you as its first Head of Creative in North Asia to build the in-house creative team. What has changed over the past 8 years when it comes to AI and its applications?

Eight years ago, AI felt exclusive—something only big tech companies and their engineers had the tools to explore and experiment with. But today, AI has become far more accessible. There are now simple apps with intuitive interfaces, making advanced technology available to virtually anyone. Everyone's a beta tester now—whether it's a software engineer at a major tech firm or a teenager at home.

What's remarkable is how widespread its use has become. Even some of my least tech-savvy friends use AI tools like ChatGPT on a daily basis. It feels like a turning point for humanity. I know it sounds dramatic, but something big is happening. I can’t tell you if it’s good or bad but it’s no doubt inevitable.

From being Google’s first Head of Creative in North Asia to leading the Prime Video Europe team, what’s your secret to nurturing creativity and collaboration in global teams?

I’d say the key is not just hearing people but truly listening to them—and there’s a big difference. When you genuinely listen, you learn so much more. It’s about paying attention not just to what’s being said, but how it’s being said, why it’s being said, and the deeper intent behind the words. I try to practice active listening everyday at work and at home. There’s always something to learn in every interaction, and the more you listen and share, the more you receive in return. Learning is free, and it’s all around us if we’re open to it.

Finding out you were a character in a novel must have been surreal. How did it feel to see yourself portrayed in someone else’s creative work?

That's a funny story, actually. It was a friend I hadn’t seen in 15 years. She had completely changed careers and written her first novel. When I read the book, I was surprised to find myself as a character—she used my real name and story, not even an alias! I hadn't known beforehand, so it was both surprising and flattering to discover that I had made such a significant impact on her life.

With such an inspiring journey, what advice would you give to aspiring creatives - and the “nomads” like yourself - trying to navigate the ever-evolving marketing landscape?

I’d say marketing is an industry where creatives need to embrace vulnerability throughout their entire careers. Trends change constantly, and creativity is always open to both praise and criticism—everyone has an opinion. As creatives, no matter how much we try not to, we often take feedback personally to some degree. And if you’re working in a foreign country, cultural differences can make you feel even more exposed. But in my experience, staying vulnerable and open has paid off in the long run.

What are you looking for in 2025?

I don’t really have a plan. I’ve never been one for five-year strategies or long-term roadmaps. I just go with the flow. That’s how I ended up moving to Canada without planning to leave France, backpacking across Australia on a whim, and relocating to China despite not knowing the language or culture. Now that I have kids, I’ll probably need to plan a bit more—but for 2025, I’m still embracing spontaneity.

I think people can feel anxious when they don’t have a clear plan, but sometimes having one can make you overly fixated on the future. I believe it’s what you do in the present that really matters—what makes you grow, feel happy, and bring joy to those around you. So while planning has its place, I’d encourage people not to become consumed by it.

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“The Nomad” is a fortnightly published series where I talk to expats who work in the creative industry, then delve into the insights which inform and help other people to live or to do business in an intercultural world