AAF Columbus is pleased to award the 2020 Silver Medal Award to Lee Peterson, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Thought Leadership at WD Partners! 

About Lee

Lee has more than 30 years of collective experience as an innovator, strategist, public speaker, and leading voice in the future of brand experience. He brings a forward-thinking approach that goes beyond brick-and-mortar by synthesizing cultural trends, consumer demographics, and buying behavior across multiple industries to anticipate the next big thing. Lee Peterson is a go-to media resource for industry-leading thoughts on any topic related to the future of brand and retail.

Lee’s list of globally recognized client work includes Samsung, CVS, New Balance, Luxottica, and Target. At WD Partners, he has led teams of creatives working on branded experiences for Best Buy, Gatorade, Pepsi, Whole Foods, Stop & Shop, 7-Eleven, Walmart, The Home Depot, Media Markt in Spain, and E Mart in Korea.

Spearheading the design and brand studio within an architecture and engineering firm, Lee has built a culture of curiosity, pushing boundaries, and strategy-driven creative. Today, he is WD’s resident futurist, using his experience and intuition to say what’s next for brands and experiences. Lee travels the globe on behalf of WD Partners, sharing predictions and philosophies with jaw-dropping presentation titles such as, “Amazon Can’t Do That” and “The Next Wave of Retail.”

Lee Peterson has been a thinker, doer, innovator, and collaborator throughout Columbus’s continued growth. His contributions to the business health of Columbus is immeasurable, and his commitment to future-forward thinking has inspired countless individuals, both within the walls of WD Partners and beyond the nation’s borders.  

Many thanks to Lee for sharing his creativity and passion with us all!

About the Silver Medal Award

The American Advertising Federation’s Silver Medal Award was established in 1959 to recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to the advertising industry and who have actively furthered the industry’s standards for creative excellence and responsibility in areas of social concerns.

Our Silver Medal Jury (Past Presidents and Silver Medal recipients) uses the following criteria when making their selection:

• Contribution to their Company

• Creative Ability

• Contributions to the General Advancement of Advertising

• Contributions to the Community

Past Silver Medalists include Columbus advertising legends such as Bob Wiseman and Vickie Easterday, Donna Teach, Betty Clark, Nancy Kramer, Pete McGinty, Barry Shawgo, Randy Malloy, Stephen Fechtor, Ron Foth Sr., Rick Milenthal, Kirk Phillips, Fred Coe, Dan Morris, Mindy Hedges, Charlie Rath, Marvin Brown, Bill Wickham, R. Steven Johnston, Anne Weaver, Linda Row, Guy Salvato, Perry Frey, Cameron James, and so many more.