In-House Excellence Awards
Grand Jury

RICK CORTEVILLE

Executive Lead, Global Media COE
Lenovo

BIO

Rick Corteville is a pi-shaped marketer. Coined by Ashley Friedlein, he used the symbol to describe marketers with a “broad base of knowledge but capabilities in both ‘left brain’ and ‘right brain’ disciplines”. Basically, someone that can be analytical AND still be a good storyteller. A data junkie who started his digital career as a copywriter, this is a great moniker for Rick and his experience. 

If you talk to anyone who has worked with/for Rick, they will tell you that he has a strong work ethic but knows how to have fun as well. Across all his previous roles, he's worked hard to develop a strong team culture that is built around his crew knowing her/his career growth path and that it's a collaborative effort to get them to the next level. 

He has extensive experience in building revenue streams and capabilities that translate to business success and strong margins. He's a strategic and creative thinker whom isn't afraid of rolling up the ole sleeves when needed but can take a step back and view the bigger picture as well. He knows today's media landscape and has opinions on where it's going - reach out to hear his thoughts and learn more! 

Q&A with Rick Corteville

Provide one word that defines "In-House Excellence" in 2026. 

Stupendous. 

What is one trend in creative operations or in-housing you are watching most closely? 

AI's impact on Dynamic Creative Optimization. 

In one sentence—what is the single most important element that moves an entry from "Good" to "Grand Prix"? 

To me, it is a campaign that is rooted in a customer insight and that showcases solid results - exceeding KPIs. 

What is the #1 mistake teams should avoid when telling their campaign’s "story" in a submission? 

Don't bury the lead, tell it straight and quantify the goodness. 

Why is it critical for in-house agencies to have their own dedicated stage for recognition? 

Three reasons:
1.) More and more brands are moving in this direction
2.) the in-house model works 
3.) amazing campaigns are being executed by these squads 

When reviewing submissions, what signals tell you that a program is driving real, sustainable business growth? 

A proactive inclusion of benchmarks and if they are in the same realm as what I've seen/experienced in the past. Anyone can jump over a fence that is a 1 foot high - goals should be a stretch- not a given. 

How do you evaluate the role of data, AI, and marketing technology in creating meaningful brand impact? 

Data = Personalization / AI = Time Efficiency / MarTech = Insight generation / Improved Optimization  

How do you evaluate the "Strategic Partnership" between an in-house team and their external partners within a single award-winning campaign? 

When the external/media partner is helping make the campaign succeed through innovative ad formats / optimization / audience insights - one can tell that they have skin in the game.

Get to know the 2026 In-House Excellence Grand Jurors.