New York agency Johannes Leonardo has made several key creative promotions and a new hire to bolster its creative leadership.
Jonathan Santana has been promoted from executive creative director to chief creative officer, while Lex Beltrone joins the agency as executive creative director, coming over from FCB.
In addition, Zoe Kessler, Jeph Burton, and Hunter Hampton have been promoted from group creative directors to executive creative directors.
With over 20 years of experience, and more than 70 international awards including a Cannes Grand Prix, Santana has worked for iconic brands including Stella Artois, Guinness, Absolut, Honda, and Ikea. After joining Johannes Leonardo in early 2022 as group creative director for Volkswagen, he rose to ecd, leading Volkswagen’s first Super Bowl commercial in 10 years with the spot ranking as the most effective ad on the night.
Recently honored in Adweek’s Creative 100, Santana now aims to help make Johannes Leonardo the most enviable agency to work with and for. He has fostered an open, human-centered approach to achieving creative excellence while buoying the creative team.
“I’m truly humbled and excited for this opportunity to lead and inspire the agency’s next era of creative success. To do so alongside (co-founders and creative chairmen) Jan Jacobs, Leo Premutico, (new CEO) Helen Andrews, and this incredible team is a dream. With a continued emphasis on nurturing our people, instilling our culture at the heart of everything we do, and creating audacious ideas worthy of the world’s participation, we have the right ingredients for greatness,” said Santana in a statement.
Burton and Hampton have been a collective creative force at the agency for the past nine years. The Cannes Grand Prix award winners are leading the charge on Adidas, and elevate the work for other agency brands including Instagram and Ore-Ida. They have been instrumental in several new business wins, diversifying JL’s roster and enabling the agency to take more creative leaps.
Kessler was named to Adweek’s Creative 100 in 2017, and was named as a finalist for Creative Director of the Year in 2018. During her time at Johannes Leonardo, she has been instrumental in key client relationships at the agency, including Uber and Kraft Heinz.
Over the past 18 years, Beltrone has worked at a number of New York agencies, most recently FCB NY, where he led creative for the award-winning Michelob Ultra work.
Together, the newly formed creative team will continue to inspire and cultivate the agency’s culture and push for the best creative success.
The moves come following Johannes Leonardo celebrating strong business growth last year with a 24% revenue increase. It is continuing to add to its global client roster; the latest addition is -196 from within the Suntory portfolio of brands, and the agency continues to create work for clients including Adidas, Instagram, Kraft-Heinz, and Volkswagen.
“Nothing brings us more pleasure than to recognize and create a platform for our next