About Paul

Paul Brourman recently joined Kohl’s as SVP, Brand Creative, tasked to lead a 240-person in-house creative organization. Brourman oversees integrated brand creative marketing, omnichannel in-house creative development, in-store marketing and social content, from concept through production. Leading with empathy, Brourman is as passionate about supporting his teams to create disruptive, original ideas that resonate through human truths.

Prior to his position at Kohl’s, Brourman was the Founder and CCO of Sponge, an innovative agency he launched in 2007. His agency partnered with Fortune 500 brands like Hyatt, McDonald’s, Kohler, Luxottica, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, AutoZone, Kerrygold, Sears Optical, LiveNation/Ticketmaster, The PrivateBank/CIBC and Penguin Publishing. Over 18 years as CCO, Brourman spearheaded integrated campaigns, iconic rebranding initiatives and gamified experiences for Hyatt’s global conferences along with other employee engagement projects for the brand. In 2014, he launched Grazie, a technology platform for employee recognition licensed by McDonald’s and Potbelly.

Brourman previously served as Senior Vice President/Group Creative Director at DDB Chicago where he led award-winning campaigns McDonald’s, Discover Card, Unilever, Anheuser-Busch, Lenscrafters, Chicago Tribune, General Mills, and most notably, a dramatic turnaround of the JCPenney brand from 1999-2005, when campaign efforts led to the brand being named 2005 AdAge Marketer of the Year. Brourman made Crain’s “40 Under 40” list and received DDB’s Leadership Award, both in 2003.

Brourman currently serves on the Music Institute of Chicago Board. In prior years, he served as an Advisory Board member of The Trust for Public Land, where he led strategic vision and branding for Chicago’s innovative and award-winning linear park, The 606.

In his spare time, aside from spending time with his family, Brourman is an accomplished gallery-represented artist working in oils from his home studio in Evanston.