Sara (Daino) Norman has known since elementary school she wanted to be in the creative business. Taking after her father who was a former art director at Foote, Cone & Belding, she obsessively collected Absolut Vodka print ads and made a plan to attend undergrad for communications, land top internships in college and move to New York City and Chicago to work in advertising and marketing. Sara considers herself lucky she gets to live her lifelong dream.
She is currently Group Director, Business Leadership at Code and Theory where she leads a portfolio of high-impact accounts, leading cross-disciplinary teams to leverage technology and creativity to craft innovative, transforming experiences that drive measurable business results and exceed client expectations. She’s responsible for cultivating strong, long-term relationships with senior client stakeholders, including C-suite executives, positioning the agency as a trusted partner and unlocking new organic growth opportunities across multiple workstreams spanning brand and product marketing. Sara is always in the pursuit of creative excellence, challenging teams to push boundaries and deliver standout customer experiences that are both strategically aligned and creatively groundbreaking, while ensuring quality and profitability.
Prior to this role, Sara was the Marketing Operations Lead for Deloitte Digital where she was a trusted advisor and instrumental in leading the transformation of the internal marketing team (B2B). Sara helped drive key business processes, governance, and other best practices that supported Brand and Demand Gen campaigns across the business. She helped lead the first Agile pilot program across Deloitte Consulting and transition the entire team by leveraging Agile ways of working, to shorten time to market, improve efficiency and productivity across team operations. Sara also oversaw various pods of web, creative, social and content talent, including all strategy, execution and delivery of various programs and campaigns across these departments.
She was also the Head of Marketing for the Studios in DD, the award-winning creative agency owned by Deloitte, overseeing all global external and internal marketing and communications, including PR, events/online events, sponsorships, awards submissions and owned channels across their six studio offices nationwide. Sara worked with clients and the agency’s employees to share and amplify how Deloitte Digital, the pioneers of the creative digital consultancy model, build meaningful human connections through creativity. In this role, Sara helped launch Chicago’s studio after contributing to the growth of the agency’s New York office, which saw headcount increase fivefold in less than a year.
A cornerstone of Sara’s career has been developing data-driven, emotionally resonant campaigns that highlight human and cultural truths and drive business results. Before her pivot into internal marketing, Sara was Global Business Director at Heat, during which time she led the pitch, win and onboarding of the AOR business for Halo Top and Bomb Pop, resulting in one of the top TikTok hashtag challenges of 2020. Sara also led the rebrand of Red Door Salon & Spa. The project included new brand positioning, name, logo and brand identity to revitalize a legacy brand looking to more meaningfully connect with consumers as they seek holistic wellness experiences. She also onboarded brands like Manulife, John Hancock and Panasonic, and laid the strategic groundwork for cross-channel campaigns.
Before joining Deloitte Digital and Heat, Sara grew in her career at BBDO, Translation, Ogilvy and Havas, planning and launching integrated global campaigns for some of the world’s most iconic brands, including Lowe’s, Jeep, ExxonMobil, DSW, State Farm, and Mercedes-Benz, to name a few.
Throughout her experience, Sara has managed strategic and production workflows across a variety of media, including TV, OLV, print, outdoor, digital display, branded content partnerships, editorial integrations, social media, in-stadium sports marketing, earned media and consumer activations. She has also built a reputation for driving business results, strengthening relationships with key stakeholders, maintaining high levels of resilience and motivation under fire, and mentoring colleagues to develop the next generation of talent.
Over the last several years, Sara has also participated in various volunteering activities with organizations such as Creative Ladder, She Runs It, PAWS Chicago and New York Cares.
When she’s not at work, Sara enjoys gardening in her Chicago backyard, renovating properties (2 so far!), searching for treasure at estate sales, making smoothies, cooking, traveling and spending time with her family (which include her children Grace & Henry, two ragdoll cats, Barney & Bo, a rescue pup named Bubba and her husband, John).
Awards
ANA B2's, Webby's, W3, Shorty's & One Show
2026 ANA B2B B2 Proprietary Company Event, Gold (Amazon Ads x Accelerate Seller Speedway)
2026 ANA B2B B2 Trade Show or Conference, Silver (Amazon Ads x Accelerate Seller Speedway)
2026 ANA B2B B2 Proprietary Company Event, Bronze (Amazon Ads x unBoxed)
2026 Webby's Websites & Mobile Sites Corporate Social Responsibility, Nominee (Vrbo)
2025 W3 Awards General Marketing Website and Microsite, Gold (Vrbo)
2025 W3 Awards General Marketing Branded Content, Gold (Vrbo)
2021 Webby’s Advertising, Media & PR Social Media Campaign, Nominee (Bomb Pop)
2021 Shorty’s Food & Beverage, Silver Honor (Bomb Pop)
2021 Shorty’s TikTok Partnership, Audience Honor (Bomb Pop)
2016 One Show Film Craft Editing / Editing, Merit Award (Jeep)
Contact
sara.daino@gmail.com