The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
The ACFE is the world's largest anti-fraud organization, with over 95,000 members across six continents. When I stepped in, the creative function was operating with an outdated visual system that no longer reflected the organization's scale or standing in the industry. I led the modernization of the brand across every touchpoint, built and hired a multidisciplinary creative team from the ground up, and established the operational infrastructure to support one of the most complex and high-volume creative environments I've worked in.
Role
Senior Design Manager,
reporting to VP of Communications with full creative authority
Scope
Brand, Events, Editorial, Web, Creative Operations
The Transformation
The ACFE had outgrown its visual identity. The existing system was dated by industry standards, inconsistent across channels, and not built to support the volume or complexity of creative the organization was producing.
I was brought in to run the creative function independently, with the authority to modernize the brand, build the team, and put the systems in place to sustain long-term creative quality. What followed was a full evolution of the visual system, a team rebuilt from 3 to 8, and a creative operation capable of supporting a global conference, a bi-monthly publication reaching 95,000 members, and a continuous stream of marketing and event work throughout the year.
Brand System
& Foundation
The goal wasn't to start over. It was to modernize what existed and make it finally work at scale.
I led the evolution of ACFE's visual system, updating typography, color application, layout principles, and design standards to bring the brand in line with where the industry had moved. The logo stayed. Everything around it changed. I built out reusable components, layout systems, and guidelines that created a consistent visual language across events, editorial, web, and marketing, so the brand held up whether it was on a conference stage in front of 5,000 people or in the pages of a 76-page publication.
Working in close partnership with the VP of Communications on strategic direction, I translated that vision into a system the team could actually use and maintain independently.
Modernized the visual identity system across all brand touchpoints
Updated typography, color, layout principles, and design standards to current industry benchmarks
Built reusable components and layout systems for high-volume production
Developed brand guidelines enabling consistency across events, editorial, web, and marketing
Preserved brand equity while bringing the system forward
Events, Editorial
& Execution
The ACFE's creative output is anchored by two flagship commitments that repeat every year without exception: a global conference and a bi-monthly print publication. Both demand a level of craft, coordination, and consistency that can't be improvised.
I led creative direction and full execution for the Global Fraud Conference, the world's largest anti-fraud event, drawing over 5,000 attendees from 88 countries. Every touchpoint was under my creative authority, from web and digital promotion through on-site environmental branding, signage, and printed materials.
In parallel, I oversaw design and production of Fraud Magazine, a 76-page bi-monthly publication distributed to the ACFE's global membership of over 95,000 professionals. Managing that editorial production cycle, issue after issue, required tight process, clear standards, and a team that could execute at a consistently high level across a compressed timeline.
Led full creative direction for the Global Fraud Conference, 5,000+ attendees across 88 countries
Managed all conference touchpoints from digital promotion through on-site environmental and print
Directed design and production of Fraud Magazine, a 76-page bi-monthly publication
Ensured editorial consistency across every issue for a global readership of 95,000+ members
Managed simultaneous event, editorial, and marketing workstreams throughout the year
Creative Operations & Team Building
Running the creative function independently meant building it into something that could actually sustain the workload.
I grew the team from 3 to 8, doing all hiring myself. I brought in designers, animators, a developer, and illustrators, building a multidisciplinary team capable of handling the full range of ACFE's creative needs in-house. Beyond headcount, I built the infrastructure around them: structured workflows and project tracking in Asana, Adobe CC Libraries to create brand consistency at the file level, and clearly defined review and approval processes that kept stakeholders aligned and delivery reliable.
The result was a creative operation that could absorb a high volume of work across multiple simultaneous initiatives without sacrificing quality or missing deadlines.
Grew the creative team from 3 to 8 through independent hiring
Built a multidisciplinary team: designers, animators, a developer, and illustrators
Implemented fully automated Asana for workflow management, intake, and project tracking
Introduced Adobe CC Libraries to enforce brand consistency across the team
Established review and approval processes to align stakeholders and improve delivery reliability
Created an operational structure capable of sustaining high-volume, multi-initiative output
Impact
The transformation at ACFE was about building a creative function that could carry the weight of one of the most demanding and visible organizations in its industry.
95,000+ members reached through a modernized brand and a bi-monthly publication that reflected the organization's global standing for the first time in years.
5,000+ attendees from 88 countries experienced a conference creative program under a cohesive, elevated visual system across every touchpoint.
Team scaled from 3 to 8, hired independently, across four disciplines, creating a creative function capable of sustaining the organization's full output long-term.
Full creative authority over a complex, multi-channel creative operation reporting directly to the VP of Communications, with no creative layer between strategy and execution.
A brand that finally looked like the world's largest anti-fraud organization. And a team built to keep it that way.