MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Creativity is indeed no longer confined by geography. Few embody this truth as vividly as former 180 Amsterdam Executive Creative Director and current Pablo London Creative Director Katrina Encanto, whose journey from the Philippines to the heart of Europe is a testament to the power of curiosity, resilience, and compassion in crafting a global career.
In the sixth episode of the adoboTalks podcast | the business of creativity, hosted by adobo Magazine Founder, President, and Editor-in-Chief Angel Guerrero, Katrina, a creative director with a unique lens on the world, offered insight on embracing challenges leading with compassion, and thriving in the fast-changing world of advertising.
Adaptation through curiosity and motivations
During the conversation, Angel recounted Katrina’s early milestones, from winning the adobo Design Awards around 2016 to taking home the Global AdAge Cover Competition in Cannes — achievements that signaled her creative brilliance early on. Katrina’s career has since spanned multiple markets, including the Philippines, Thailand, Italy, the UK, and the Netherlands, each stopping shaping her worldview and expanding her creative language.
Born to a lawyer father and a mother who served as the dean of mass communications at the University of the Philippines, Katrina credits her adaptability to an innate curiosity and a hunger for growth — shaped during her childhood in an academic family. She grew up surrounded by critical thinking, storytelling, and purpose which stands as her values that now define her leadership style. She attributes her career trajectory to an insatiable desire to learn and make an impact, believing that growth happens when one steps beyond comfort zones.
“Curiosity keeps you moving forward,” she shared. “It’s what allows you to keep growing, no matter where you are.”
Katrina added, “A lot of it has been driven by a desire to keep learning and a desire to keep making an impact. My ambitions are to use my job as a platform to ensure that, first, I keep learning, and second, that I am able to make an impact and the bigger sort of societal issues as well.”
Working across continents, Katrina has learned that adaptation is not just about fitting in, it’s about understanding people and culture. Moving from one country to another, she has embraced each shift as a new classroom for creativity and empathy.
“I always wanted to learn and I always wanted to keep pushing myself. That’s the reason why I’ve moved to all of these places. I think I always treated every brief as an opportunity to learn, but equally, I sought out opportunities to stretch myself to go beyond the comfort zone. So whether that’s taking up strategic design in Italy, then moving to a regional role in Thailand, a global role in the UK, or a leadership role in Amsterdam, I always moved because I felt that is an opportunity for me to grow and to learn as fast as I could.”
Katrina also acknowledged the personal challenges of being away from home, stressing the importance of staying grounded through constant connection with family. Each new market, she said, has given her fresh perspectives on creativity, leadership, and collaboration which served as lessons she carries into her global work today.
“When I am learning, I’m stretching myself, then I feel like that’s really the reason why I have kept going in this career. I think there’s just still so much more for me to learn and, and I think that keeps me interested in the journey,” she underscored.
Creative environments and cultural nuance
Katrina’s early experiences at Saatchi & Saatchi and JWT Manila built the foundation for her creative philosophy. It was in the Philippines that she learned the importance of compassion, cultural sensitivity, and storytelling rooted in human truth.
Her Filipino background, she says, has deeply influenced how she leads with care, humility, and a sense of shared purpose. Working across different markets has taught her the delicate balance between local insight and global resonance: creating ideas that travel while staying emotionally authentic.
“Being a Filipina informed a lot of how I operate, that even when I moved to different countries, different networks, I really [relied] on our capacity to care as people. I think we have the soft power to care about things that are often overlooked, whether it’s about people or about a subject. I think I’ve used that to just give more to the job because care costs nothing, and if I could just give one more minute to a person or to a subject, then maybe that’s the unique way that I could add value to whatever it is that I’m doing,” she explained.
“I think it’s important to create a sense of psychological safety to ensure that people feel free to take risks and be brave with their ideas. I would say that’s something that I’ve tried to do anyway, whenever I’m working with a group to ensure that I’m connecting to them as individuals as well, because that’s the way that we learn about the world and that is through connections,” Katrina added.
Navigating client relationships
In discussing the challenges of client collaboration, Katrina underscores the importance of trust, curiosity, and humor. She believes the best partnerships emerge when both sides are willing to listen and learn from each other.
Likewise, Katrina, who has won over 75 awards from D&AD, Cannes Lions, Clios, Eurobest, and The One Show, believes that a “great” client must have a sense of collaboration, a sense of trust in the agency, teamwork mentality, a sense of fairness, and honesty as well as clarity.
Embracing modern advertising challenges
As the conversation turns to the future, Katrina candidly spoke about the evolving advertising landscape — from data-rich insights to generative AI. Rather than fearing change, she sees these tools as opportunities to learn and enhance creativity, not replace it.
“I view these as just tools. I don’t think they will ever replace humans, just because I think the things that connect to people are still human insights like the things that really resonate are still defined by emotions, and that’s something that these tools wouldn’t be able to do without the humans operating them,” Katrina affirmed.
She then encouraged creatives to view technology as a collaborator, one that expands what’s possible when guided by human empathy and insight.
“I think I wouldn’t be daunted by all of these tools. I would just like to view them as just more things to help improve our work and leaning on your capacity to be curious about them and learning how to operate them is just the way that I would approach them just because anyone can learn about mid-journey, anyone can learn about rich data. It doesn’t cost anything, like all of the information is available. And if it isn’t available on the internet, there’s always someone to ask. So I would just treat these as opportunities to keep learning as creatives,” she noted.
The power of sports in creative leadership
Katrina grew up being part of a swim team and also played for the football varsity team of the University of the Philippines. She credited sports for shaping her leadership style and, as a team player both on and off the field, draws parallels between athletics and creative work that nurture teamwork, empathy, and resilience.
“I really believe that progress is a team sport. I think you don’t get that far alone. I think there’s just so much that you learn from being part of a team and working with people like kind of trying to work with people’s strengths is something that I have learned through football and if I know that someone can only run a certain length, and I will ensure that my past meets them where they are,” Katrina underscored.
Sports, she said, taught her to recognize people’s strengths and create space for them to shine, a principle she carries into her creative teams.
“I think being able to read people and understand things like our roles in making a play work is so important. I took on more leadership roles and believe that being a leader is about setting the play, making sure that everyone is clear on what they need to do. And I think just being part of a team is sort of honing in on particular qualities of a leader,” she continued.
Advice for aspiring creatives
For those dreaming of working on the global stage, Katrina’s advice is clear and heartfelt: Be curious, be a sponge, and treat every experience as a chance to learn.
“Be a sponge for knowledge. Try to learn as much as you can from every opportunity. I think you have as many opportunities in the Philippines as you know you have elsewhere. I think it’s with the opportunity in front of you, you’ve got briefs that you would really like to learn from and just treat every experience as a way to learn. Whenever you’re at shoots or you’re in meetings, just try to push your curiosity, your empathy, and just try to learn a little bit more about the people that you’re working with,” Katrina advised.
She also encouraged young creatives to expand their taste, build relationships, and develop empathy — qualities that make a great creative not just skilled, but human.
“There are ways for you to expand your taste. I think just keep reading, keep learning about things, keep learning about new tech [and] just be curious. Just acquaint yourself with different stimuli to enrich your own personal library. And then, try not to live in an echo chamber. You cannot just be around people who are like you. I think it’s important that you understand [that] there is a view that I don’t agree with,” Katrina said.
She added, “Connecting to people is again, something that we can all do. That’s quite accessible, reaching out to people and connecting to them on a human level. [Get] inspiration and try to have a coffee with them, and try to see whether there is someone that you admire and just understand a little bit more about how they got there. And then, make sure that you’re aware of your strengths. Everyone has their own superpower that you play that up and that you’re able to identify what it is that you are, which is a unique thing that you bring to the table.”
Ultimately, the candid and inspiring conversations dived into Katrina’s journey from Manila to Amsterdam, offering invaluable insights on creativity, leadership, and adapting to change in today’s fast-evolving industry.
Drawing from her experiences across continents and campaigns, Katrina’s reflections provide practical wisdom and motivation for anyone navigating the creative world. Here are the key takeaways from her conversation:
- Curiosity fuels growth: Katrina highlights the importance of staying curious and treating every new project, environment, and brief as a learning opportunity. Embracing new challenges keeps your creative thinking fresh and forward-looking.
- Compassion and care set great creatives apart: Infusing your work and leadership style with empathy, compassion, and genuine care for people creates a positive environment and can make a real difference in creative outcomes.
- Adaptability is essential in a global career: Success in the creative industry often means being open to change — embracing new cultures, environments, and ways of working. Katrina’s journey across continents demonstrates the value of adaptability.
- Teamwork drives success: Collaborating with others, recognizing each team member’s strengths, and striving for collective progress fosters more innovative and effective work.
- Embrace technology, but keep human insight at the core: New tools and technologies should be viewed as opportunities, not threats. Katrina urges creatives to learn and use them but reminds us that human emotions, insights, and storytelling remain irreplaceable.
- Continuous learning and networking: Never stop learning. Read widely, gain diverse experiences, expand your creative references, and connect meaningfully with mentors and peers. Understanding your unique strengths will help you stand out.
Catch the insightful conversation with Katrina Encanto on Episode 6 of the adoboTalk Podcast on Spotify, YouTube, and Soundcloud. The adoboTalks Podcast | the business of creativity, is presented by adobo Magazine, the word on creativity and produced in partnership with The Pod Network and Hit Productions.
