Leslie Ali: Global Creative Director | AI-fluent Brand & Product Builder
About
Leslie is an AI Creative Director designing the layer above the model — voice, personality, ethical boundaries, and the decisions that make people trust an AI or not.
She brings together 18 months of deep AI prototyping with two decades of experience shaping tone, character, creative strategy, and brand voice for companies including Nike, IKEA, and Google. Her background includes work with Wieden+Kennedy, BMP/DDB London, JWT New York, Host Sydney, Google Creative Lab, and CVLRY.
Leslie built Need/Done, a Brooklyn childcare app documented across four episodes of WNYC’s Note to Self. She is now building HELPER, an AI voice companion for aging parents and their caregivers, and Clarion VO Guide, a dashboard that helps people direct human and AI voice talent.
Her work and experience span advertising, AI, voice design, creative strategy, product thinking, ethical AI, startups, UX, global markets, performance marketing, and creative leadership. She has been connected to Sundance, Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia Grand Prix, TED NYC Incubator, and Google Creative Lab.
Leslie is a great person to talk to if you’re trying to understand how creativity, AI, brand voice, product, and trust come together — especially if you’re exploring how to bring AI into a company, product, creative practice, or marketing function in a thoughtful way.
Website
Interests
Mystery snails
Italy
Languages
Italian, French, and conversational Spanish
AI tools and product ideas
Can Help With
Creative and design
Portfolio reviews
Art direction
Creative direction
Copywriting
Design feedback
UX/UI
Branding
Creative strategy
Performance marketing
Breaking into the industry
Career pivots
Leadership
Salary conversations
Interview preparation
Résumé and portfolio feedback
Personal branding
Advertising agencies
In-house creative
Tech
Startups
Consulting
Managing teams
Mentoring
Building culture
Creative operations
Client management
AI integration
Voice and personality design
Ethical AI boundaries
Global advertising careers
Expanding into UK or Australian markets
Best Person to Talk to About
Integrating AI into the culture of your company
Building voice, tone, and personality into AI products
Understanding ethical boundaries in AI design
Bringing marketing into an AI-native or tech company
Using AI in creative strategy and performance marketing
Expanding your creative or marketing career globally
Navigating advertising careers across the U.S., UK, and Australia
Moving from traditional creative work into AI, product, or tech
Developing brand voice for human or AI experiences
Thinking through a PRD or early-stage AI product idea
Best Fit For
Early career professionals
Mid-career and senior professionals
Executives
People in transition or pivoting
Creative leaders exploring AI
Founders or marketers building AI-native products
Fun Fact
Leslie was so scared of childbirth while having her first baby in London that she felt she had to cover every possible base — including hiring a doula for her C-section.
Background
Leslie studied International Relations at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, with Renaissance studies in Florence.
Before finding her way into advertising, creative leadership, and AI, she thought she wanted to become an archaeologist and study Ancient Greece and Rome. That early interest in history, culture, language, and human behavior now shows up in the way she thinks about voice, personality, trust, and how people relate to technology