Ken Buraker
Ken Buraker, Executive Creative Director, leads Curley Company’s creative strategy and execution, helping organizations craft stories that connect and inspire across complex industry challenges. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience across major agencies and B2B, B2C, and B2G brands, he connects ideas to influence, data to design, and people to purpose. He defines creative vision, brand strategy, and innovation for clients in healthcare, public affairs, technology, and mission-driven causes, blending insight and imagination to turn complex issues into compelling narratives.
His passion lives at the intersection of creativity, technology, and AI-driven innovation. He thrives on bringing these worlds together, whether collaborating with Takeda and Marvel on the IBD Unmasked campaign, designing Mastercard’s World Beyond Cash storytelling platform, or inspiring conversation through the Entertainment Software Association’s Game Generation campaign. Ken builds experiences that move audiences, spark change, and anticipate what’s next. He’s equally fluent in pixels and policy, brand identity and behavioral insight, and he’s happiest when all those worlds collide. Before joining Curley, Ken served as Chief Creative Officer at Urban Emu and as Senior Vice President, Executive Creative Director at Ketchum, leading a U.S. team across creative strategy, design, and UX for clients such as the World Economic Forum, FDA, FedEx, IBM, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Earlier, at Porter Novelli, he helped launch integrated campaigns across health, biotech, and energy sectors. These experiences continue to shape his leadership at Curley, where he bridges big-agency innovation with a high-touch, influence-driven approach. He explores how AI and design innovation can amplify human creativity and bring mass personalization to communications. Ken has served as a guest lecturer at Georgetown University’s Business for Impact program and as a member of the National Capital Chapter of PRSA.
A summa cum laude graduate of James Madison University. Ken’s favorite place in DC is the restaurant Le Diplomate, which perfectly combines the spirit of his two favorite cities, DC and Paris.
