John P. Cota
Top-performing Executive Brand Leader | Marketing Leadership
Personal Details
Visionary creative executive with 15+ years of progressive leadership at L.A. Care Health Plan, architecting iconic brand identities, building enterprise-wide creative organizations from the ground up, and delivering transformative brand strategies that drive member growth, market dominance, and measurable ROI. Excel at translating executive vision into bold, compliant creative campaigns across digital, social, print, and experiential channels while modernizing workflows, slashing costs, and elevating brand equity. Recognized for rebranding L.A. Care’s primary logo, achieving 80%+ gains in market presence, and fostering high-performing creative teams that consistently exceed business objectives. Ready to lead brand and creative strategy as Executive Director for a forward-thinking organization.
- Name: John Cota
- Phone: (323) 382.4288
- Email: john@cotago.co
- Location: Los Angeles, 90022.
- Languages: English, Spanish
RESUME
skills
My expertise spans the full spectrum from creative design leadership to strategic marketing, allowing me to deliver compelling visual solutions that drive brand engagement. I excel at blending innovative concepts with targeted marketing strategies to achieve measurable results and elevate brand presence. With a keen eye for aesthetics and a strategic mindset, I consistently develop campaigns that resonate with audiences and support organizational goals.
Executive Brand & Marketing Leadership
Creative Direction
Brand Strategy & Positioning
Creative Vision & Innovation
Marketing Strategy
Enterprise Financial Management
Change Management
Integrated Marketing
education
Resume Available For Download.
2000-2002
California State Los Angeles University
Earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, with emphasis in General Design.
2001-2002
California State Los Angeles University
Earned a Multimedia certificate, with emphasis in Graphic Design.
1998-2000
East Los Angeles College
Earned a Associate of Arts degree, with emphasis in Liberal Arts.
experience
05/2021-03/2026
Senior Director, Brand, Creative & Marketing
L.A. Care Health Plan
- Provide visionary leadership to Creative Services and Marketing teams. Aligned key deliverables with ambitious goals and delivered persuasive brand presentations.
- Responsible for developing L.A. Care’s principal umbrella brand and all sub-product and partnership brands.
- Architected the full enterprise brand strategy and creative direction for a multi-billion health plan, establishing a consistent voice, visual system, and messaging across Medi-Cal, Medicare, ACA/Covered California, and supplemental product lines.
- Spearheaded integrated campaign strategy development across digital, social, print, media, and community channels to enhance audience engagement and performance, by up to 70% over a 10-year period.
- Oversaw brand strategy and corporate identity for a multi-billion-dollar health plan.
- Led the integration of generative A.I. across marketing and creative operations, transforming content production workflows and reducing campaign development timelines by 30–50% while increasing output scalability across enterprise channels.
- Ensured consistently compelling messaging and an authentic voice across all channels.
- Owned annual marketing and Go-To-Market plans to boost brand, drive growth, and retain members.
- Built and led high-performing teams by hiring top talent while managing focused coaching efforts on rigorous performance management and professional development.
- Collaborated meticulously with executive leadership to translate fragmented business objectives into clear, concise campaign roadmaps that drive measurable business results.
- Managed annual enterprise budgets for the organization, exceeding $50 million.
- Operationalized A.I. and automation across marketing systems, streamlining cross-functional workflows and improving team efficiency by 40%+ while enabling faster, data-driven campaign execution.
- Applied A.I. to web and application development initiatives, enabling rapid prototyping, UX optimization, and scalable digital experiences across brand platforms.
08/2017-05/2021
Director, Brand, Creative & Marketing Operations
L.A. Care Health Plan
- Achieved a 30%+ increase in vendor-added value by creating an internal vendor tracking and financial control system featuring robust analytics that improved financial compliance.
- Achieved a remarkable 42% efficiency boost by adeptly modernizing the existing project management system, resulting in streamlined processes and enhanced overall productivity.
- Built and scaled a Creative Services team (10+), optimizing forecasting and ensuring brand consistency.
- Led creative strategy and execution for member communications across Medicaid/Medi-Cal, Medicare, and ACA with a focus on clarity, consistency, and regulatory compliance.
- Spearheaded research-backed brand initiatives, translating key customer insights into effective creative strategy through assessments, focus groups, and studies.
- Introduced emerging A.I. tools and automation frameworks to modernize creative workflows, improving production efficiency and enabling data-informed creative decision-making.
- Implemented cohesive enterprise brand compliance governance by collaborating inter-departmentally to ensure proper utilization of messaging and visual standards.
- Owned comprehensive brand development and orchestrated a transformative flagship logo redesign implemented across all traditional and digital channels to enhance identity.
- Oversaw comprehensive copywriting initiatives to significantly enhance clarity, readability, and persuasive audience engagement through rigorous, detail-oriented proofreading.
05/2015-08/2017
Manager, Brand & Creative Services
L.A. Care Health Plan
- Directed creative execution for enterprise marketing communications across print, digital, video, collateral, and integrated campaigns.
- Served as a brand standards subject matter expert for corporate identity, ensuring consistent brand guidelines, logo usage, templates, and asset governance.
- Directed creative execution for enterprise marketing communications, meticulously overseeing both print, web, digital, video, collateral, and global marketing campaigns.
- Led and directed tailored photography initiatives in collaboration with external photographers.
01/2006-05/2015
Graphic Designer & Brand
L.A. Care Health Plan
- Designed health plan marketing graphics and materials to enhance brand visibility.
- Optimized brand assets with innovative strategies to boost market presence.
- Led initiatives that accelerated brand development and boosted customer engagement.
- Transitioned analog project tracking and managment to digital platforms.
Portfolio
As Creative Director and Senior Director of Creative & Marketing at L.A. Care Health Plan, I was primarily responsible for creating and establishing the organization’s brand identity from the ground up, shaping the visual and strategic foundation of the enterprise. I individually led the development of brand identities across the organization’s full portfolio of products, programs, and strategic partnerships — including the Community Resource Center collaboration with Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan. In addition, I built and scaled the creative team, modernized workflows, and delivered integrated campaigns that drove member growth, strengthened market presence, and produced measurable business results, all while ensuring strict regulatory compliance.
Creative Leadership Highlights
Built Creative Services from the ground up, growing a high-performing team aligned with enterprise goals.
Led comprehensive corporate brand development, as well as development for all products. Lead a global identity brand ambassador program that delivered 80%+ gains in market presence..
Modernized workflows and implemented new tools, reducing production time and costs while elevating quality.
- All Work
- Corporate Brand
- Covered California ACA Product
- Medi-Cal/Medicaid Product
- Medicare D-SNP Product
- Community Resource Centers Partnership
- Plan Partner Partnership
Click a category to see sample creatives and items while under my direction.
Corporate Brand
L.A. Care Health Plan
80%+ Lift In Brand Recognition
Corporate Brand
General Brand TV Spot
Corporate Brand
25th Anniversery TV Spot
Corporate Brand
2017 L.A. Brand Initiative
One Of The Brand Studies & Initiatives
Corporate Brand
Corporate State of Union Brochure
Yielded General Corporate/Business Awareness
Corporate Brand
COVID-19 Star Trek PSA Campaign
Increasing Awareness of COVID-19
Corporate Brand
L.A. Care - Program Brands
Samples of Program Brands
Corporate Brand
2022 • L.A. Care - 25th Anniversary Brochure
Special Annual Report Highlighting L.A. Care's History
Corporate Brand
L.A. Care - Flightpath To 2030
Corporate 5-Year Plan
Corporate Brand
2022 • L.A. Care - Wings of Culture
Introduction To Organizational Culture Shift
Corporate Brand
L.A. Care - Family Resource Centers
L.A. Care's first Community Resource Center model
Corporate Brand
L.A. Care - Quality Ratings Awareness
Internal Health Care Rating Campaign
Corporate Brand
L.A. Care - All Product Brochure (SP)
Bringing Awareness To The Spanish Speaking Community Of LA
L.A. Care Covered Product (LACC)
LACC Brand
L.A. Care's ACA/Covered California Product
L.A. Care Covered Product (LACC)
LACC
LACC Go-To-Market Planning And Approach
L.A. Care Covered Product (LACC)
LACC
New Member Kits
L.A. Care Covered Product (LACC)
LACC
2025 Digital Animation Activation Spot
L.A. Care Covered Product (LACC)
LACC
Kavani-DTLA Digital Activation
L.A. Care Covered Product (LACC)
LACC
2026 Full Metro Activation
L.A. Care Covered Product (LACC)
LACC
Product Launch Welcome Kit Insert
L.A. Care Medi-Cal/Medicaid Product
Medi-Cal
Go-To-Market Plan & Execution
L.A. Care Medi-Cal/Medicaid Product
Medi-Cal
Changes to Medi-Cal & ACA
L.A. Care Medi-Cal/Medicaid Product
Medi-Cal
Live Well Member Newsletter
L.A. Care Medi-Cal/Medicaid Product
Medi-Cal
2026 New Member Guide
L.A. Care Medi-Cal/Medicaid Product
Medi-Cal
Member Language Card
L.A. Care Medi-Cal/Medicaid Product
Medi-Cal
2025 New Member Guide
L.A. Care Medi-Cal/Medicaid Product
Medi-Cal
Understanding Managed Care Guide
L.A. Care Medicare D-SNP Product
D-SNP
Go-To-Market Plan & Execution (Round 1)
L.A. Care Medicare D-SNP Product
D-SNP
Go-To-Market Plan & Execution (Round 2)
L.A. Care Medicare D-SNP Product
D-SNP
2026 Member Annual Guide
L.A. Care Medicare D-SNP Product
D-SNP
2024 Go-To-Market Plan & Execution
L.A. Care Medicare D-SNP Product
D-SNP
Medicare KMEX TV Spot
L.A. Care Medicare D-SNP Product
D-SNP
Medicare KTLA TV Spot
L.A. Care Medicare D-SNP Product
D-SNP
Medicare+Medi-Cal ads
L.A. Care Medicare D-SNP Product
D-SNP
2025 Medicare Go-To-Market Wrap Up
Community Resource Centers
L.A. Care + Blue Shield
Partnership Brand
Community Resource Centers Partnership (CRCs)
L.A. Care + Blue Shield of California Promise
Event promotion to inform tenants of the rights.
Plan Partner Collaboration
L.A. Care + Blue Shield + Anthem
Collaboration Campaign Launch
Plan Partner Collaboration
L.A. Care + Blue Shield + Anthem
Plan Partner Landing Page
Plan Partner Collaboration
L.A. Care + Blue Shield + Anthem
Collaboration Social Media Campaign
Plan Partner Collaboration
L.A. Care + Blue Shield + Anthem
Collaboration Social Media Campaign
Plan Partner Collaboration
L.A. Care + Blue Shield + Anthem
Collaboration Out-Of-Home Buss Shelters
Photography
My portfolio showcases a curated body of work captured over years of travel, reflecting a refined visual perspective shaped by diverse cultures, landscapes, and experiences around the world. I work exclusively with Sony mirrorless systems and have relied on the Sony A7R IV for the past four years to produce natural, detail-driven imagery across a range of environments and shooting conditions. Although travel photography is a central focus of my work, my portfolio reflects a versatile approach across subjects and settings. I bring a deliberate, strategic eye to composition and prioritize natural light whenever possible, while also drawing on extensive experience with controlled and studio lighting to achieve the desired visual outcome.
