Dorene Weisenstein Ribotsky

Executive Vice President & Chief Creative Officer

“How can we make it better?” is a question Dorene constantly asks herself and her creative teams, whether she’s leading a full-scale brand launch or simply refreshing a journal ad. She constantly challenges herself to provide clients with creative that not only achieves its desired strategic objectives, but that everyone can be proud of.

While she falls in love with every brand she touches, Dorene has a real soft spot for brands that seem “impossible to sell” at the outset. She is able to envision strategic creative avenues where others can only see Herculean brand obstacles and challenges. Bringing success to a client that no other agency has previously been able to be successful with—well that’s a thrill that she thrives on.

Dorene also finds great pleasure in guiding people to push their creative boundaries and develop the most effective communications. Hundreds of awards later, she still gets unbelievable joy from the day-to-day flow of creativity and inspiration between herself and her teams.

Prior to joining Ken (27 years and counting), Dorene managed creative teams at subsidiaries of Scali, McCabe, Sloves; BBDO; and two women’s fashion divisions of Kinney Shoe Corp. in New York City. Her diverse consumer portfolio includes award-winning campaigns for such varied clients as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Revlon, and Visa. As a result of her strong consumer roots, Dorene brings a unique point of view to healthcare branding. She says she was first bitten by the advertising bug while watching the famous Alka-Seltzer commercial, “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is.”

Often sought out to evaluate the creative work of her peers, Dorene has served as a judge for prestigious industry awards, including The Rx Club Awards, The Globals, The Web Awards, and Pharma Choice Awards.

Her desire to live life boldly influences everything Dorene does, from her professional work to the contemporary, figurative, and abstract paintings she creates. When she isn’t focused on building successful brands, Dorene loves to take shoemaking classes and walk her Havanese, Barney the Wonder Dog.