He goes by the name Smith, just Smith. Other than being the most common name in the English-speaking world, it’s also a good representation of what our Smith does.
Originally a smith was a person who worked with metals, a blacksmith, goldsmith, or silversmith, someone who heated and hammered new things out of raw materials. But the name carries also with it the connotation of a master craftsman, someone who makes a living from their creative talent.
That’s who Smith, a highly sought after international creative producer, is. Smith’s produced music video masterpieces as well as global branding campaigns that have reached millions.
While he goes by an English name, Smith’s actually French and was born in Paris, where he was known as Nicolas Della-Libera. He was raised there in the 1980s and 1990s, where his first role models were his mother and his grandmother, Baba, who played a major role in his young life. Other characters colored his world though. Smith was inspired by athletes like Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson, and musicians like Nina Simone and Bob Marley. Like any Frenchman, Smith found inspiration in Alexandre Dumas’ legendary character in The Count of Monte Cristo.
There is a touch of the famed count in Smith as well. If anything, the character in Dumas’ story is a survivor, but he also reinvents himself. For Smith, who started out in the hospitality industry, working in Michelin star restaurants, cocktail bars and nightclubs in Paris and London, his first track in life could have remained static. He worked with clients, managed teams, and could have just stayed there. He credits this time with giving him insights he applied in creative endeavors.
He did move on, bringing everything he learned with him.
“I think my most unique career trait is applying the people skills I’ve learned in my hospitality career to production, putting people first,” Smith says. Working in hospitality he was also exposed to lots of visitors, and the influences they brought with them. “I’ve always been drawn to different cultures, music, visuals, and travel,” he says. This interest has kept him in the zone.
“My thirst for knowledge and adventure pushes me to stay humble,” says Smith, “and to constantly reinvent myself.”
Transforming global brands
Eventually Smith skipped Europe and headed off to the New World, setting in Canada. With this big move, he also began a career shift that would make him a highly sought after creative producer. He helped produce award-nominated music videos, popular television shows, and helmed international advertising campaigns. This garnered the attention of major global brands.
Smith has been in big demand ever since.
Transforming global brands is certainly something he’s known for. Smith has produced successful campaigns for FILA, Allbirds, Transat, Nissan, and Nutrafol, for example.
“I’m known for my ability to enhance the creative, and to push the culture forward,” Smith says.
For FILA, he led production on the agency side for its global rebranding campaign earlier this year. This included working with the creative team, developing the production approach, budgeting creative ideas, hiring the best directors, and supervising the whole entire campaign. He also had to manage the clients and production company on set. The rebranding campaign, which focused on appealing to a younger demographic, while balancing the brand’s Italian heritage, was a hit. Morgan Stanley noted his role in helping to drive the campaign’s success.
Smith played a similar role for the official FIFA World Cup 2022 commercial, making sure that all aspects of the production stayed true to FIFA’s global brand while hitting those tight deadlines.
Consistent delivery
Branding campaigns though are just a sample of what Smith has been able to deliver in his career as a creative producer. He was the cultural lead on a music video trilogy for Zach Zoya, a Québécois hip hop artist in Canada. Here Smith showed off his deft ability for managing high-profile personalities, while using his creative instincts to push the project to the next level.
Le GED, the director of the Zach Zoya trilogy and commercial musical video director, recalls that while others might have cracked under the pressure of producing a video, Smith thrived, consistently delivering when it mattered most.
“His leadership kept everyone on track, and his out-of-the-box thinking solved problems others couldn’t even see,” says Le GED. “Smith didn’t just meet expectations—he blew them out of the water, making the project a true standout.”
Smith kept things rolling smoothly and remained positive and focused on the set, Le GED adds. “Smith’s passion for his craft shows in every detail,” he says, “he’s a pro through and through.”
Zach Zoya’s video for “Slurpee” eventually went into garner a nomination for Video of the Year at the Berlin Music Awards, and another video for “Da Way,” was nominated at the Dynastie Gala for Music Video of the Year.
Another standout musical creative project was the video for “Bun Dem” by Sarahmée, a Senegalese-Canadian rapper, which was shot in Dakar, Senegal. Caraz, the director of “Bun Dem,” similarly recalls a creative producer who had the skills to make the effort a big success. Caraz also worked with Smith on an Air Transat shoot in Portugal. “His depth of cultural awareness didn’t just help me navigate the different environments,” Caraz recalls. “His memory is unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed; he remembers details most of us would forget,” he says. “And that makes all the difference.”
“Bun Dem” was later nominated for a Juno Award, the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy. And the work in music video production continued. That same year, Smith worked as a line producer on Pink featuring Khalid’s “Hurts 2B Human”, which has garnered more than 37.5 million views.
Smith also shined as a creative producer for the program A Taste of Marley, where Bob Marley’s son, the acclaimed musician Rohan Marley, explores the food and music of Jamaica. Here, Smith served as an executive producer.
Staying Curious
Smith recently joined the ranks of Division, an award-winning creative production company with offices in Paris, Los Angeles, and Sydney. In his new role, Smith serves as an executive producer for the Americas.
“I’m very happy with my new adventure,” he says, adding that he looks forward to pushing the culture with new, groundbreaking music videos, and to developing relationships with new directors and artists, as well as producing the next culture-shaping commercials. He plans to keep things fresh “by staying curious about everything and by trying to understand people and culture the best I can.”
As to where he’ll be in 10 years, no one can say. He would like to be happy and fulfilled, whatever he’s working on. “As for the how, where, and with whom, I’ll leave that to the stars and the universe to decide.”
