The year 2000 doesn’t seem like that long ago.

After all, a decade is just a small blip in time. And it’s not like we we were living in caves or communicating with smoke signals back then. We did a lot of the same stuff we do today: eat, shop, read, browse, watch, listen…

However, in that tiny 10-year period, the world has changed. Drastically.

Ten years ago, we weren’t uploading a random video of our dog skateboarding via mobile phone – nor were ten million people watching that clip online. Ten years ago, we weren’t updating our ‘status’ obsessively every hour. Ten years ago, we didn’t feel the compulsive need to text our thoughts in 140 characters or less for strangers to see.

That’s because it was impossible to do those things ten years ago. Or even five years ago: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter – they were only a dream in some visionary’s head.

Digital fundamentally changed the way we behave and the way we live.

It’s not a stretch to say that it’s has impacted the landscape of advertising and creativity more profoundly than anything else. That’s why I’m extremely honoured and proud to be the President of such a dynamic and influential category at Spikes Asia in 2010.

Welcome to the next decade of the 21st century. Welcome to Digital.

The year 2000 does seem like a long time ago.

Named in Creativity Magazine’s annual ‘Creativity 50’, Rei Inamoto is one of the most influential individuals in the marketing and creative industry today.

With a broad international experience in Asia, Europe and the US as well as an unusual combination of background in advertising, design and technology, Rei brings a unique perspective to his work.

Rei is Chief Creative Officer of AKQA, responsible for delivering creative solutions for the agency’s clients such as Nike, Xbox, McDonald’s and Visa. Since joining the agency in 2004, his presence has been instrumental in bringing AKQA the highest recognitions. In the last several years, AKQA received multiple Agency of the Year accolades from various industry publications. It was also selected as one of the Fast Company’s 50 Most Innovative Companies among Apple and Google. Most recently in January 2010, Advertising Age honoured AKQA as one of the top Ten Agencies of the Decade. In June 2010, Rei will serve on the Titanium and Integrated Jury at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

Originally from Tokyo, Rei spent his childhood and teenage years in Japan and Europe. He then went to the US to complete his university studies with degrees in fine arts and computer science – all before people were broadcasting their feelings, talking in 140 characters or less, or becoming friends with people they didn’t know.