IPG’s Momentum Worldwide is preparing for the deluge of artificial intelligence-generated content.

The agency is creating the role of synthetic media producer to help reduce risks and mitigate liability when it comes to working with AI-generated content for its clients, which are growing increasingly concerned over its risks.

Sitting within Momentum Worldwide’s content strategy team and reporting to the agency’s head of global technology operations, the SMP will be responsible for assessing AI-generated content for factual inaccuracies, logical inconsistencies or biased outputs. They will educate clients on the possibility of hallucinations and how to ensure accuracy before using AI-generated output, integrate deepfake detection into workflows and monitor synthetic media regulations. They will liaise between the agency’s legal, technical and creative teams, and they can earn between $80,000 per year to $160,000 and up based on seniority.

“There is a lack of transparency on what information the generative AI platforms [are] trained on, what rights exist within that corpus of data and what rights had been violated in order to get the outputs,” said Jason Snyder, chief technology officer at Momentum Worldwide. “It’s a big issue and, quite frankly, an obstacle to being able to adopt this technology and integrate [it] into everything at scale.”

Synthetic content—any output partially or fully produced by gen AI, such as deepfakes—globally increased tenfold across all industries from 2022 to 2023, according to Sumsub research, with a 1,740% surge in the U.S. The risks of gen AI content are becoming clearer: Google’s Gemini chatbot was suspended after it created images depicting people of color wearing German military uniforms from World War II.

Currently, Momentum appears to be unique in creating this role. Headhunters have seen the integration of gen AI tools and outputs into roles within functions like art directors, video producers, content strategists and media producers, but they have not yet seen the use of the term in job titles across marketing. LinkedIn had no data on the growth of the role.

Other IPG agencies are considering the best way to insert a human curation phase to review AI-generated content before clients see it, and synthetic media producers are one example, said a spokesperson.

“We’re seeing investment in content development,” said Mark Wagman, managing director, MediaLink. “From helping understand the impact of deepfakes to helping a legal team understand how gen AI solutions may require changes to ethics guidelines, there’s certainly a run on talent that can help navigate the buy side of this marketplace through the next era.”

Key features of the role

With the SMP role, Momentum can address threats posed by intellectual property and copyright matters, ethics violations, data decay, hallucinations and deepfakes. They will stay on top of regulatory changes surrounding synthetic media, contributing to the organization’s ethical AI strategy, such as mitigating societal bias in AI solutions. They will also assist agency legal counsel in selecting reputable gen AI vendors, outlining their potential constraints and assisting in writing client agreements regarding data use for AI training.

“Finding this exact skill set might be challenging initially,” Wagman said. “It might make sense to upskill someone internally with an existing foundation or tap into adjacent skill areas and invest in training.”

Other agencies choose to integrate gen AI expertise within existing roles, but having a centralized expert, according to Snyder, lets existing teams focus on their core strengths.

“This combined approach fosters scalability, adaptability and a Momentum-wide culture of responsible innovation,” Snyder told ADWEEK. “While upskilling sessions ensure broad understanding, the dedicated role provides subject matter expertise for the ongoing guidance and infrastructure necessary to leverage gen AI ethically.”

Other agency approaches

Other agencies have their approaches to mitigating risk. Agency holding group WPP—which invested $317 million in its AI efforts this year—established a legal team to oversee AI initiatives at the holding company level, said Oliver Feldwick, head of innovation at WPP agency The&Partnership.

The&Partnership formed a 10-member cross-departmental team in September, the AI Ethics Council, which meets monthly and is tasked with monitoring the responsible implementation of gen AI within the agency, identifying risks and potential pitfalls, Feldwick added.

Elsewhere, Omnicom and Media.Monks have integrated the responsibility of using gen AI ethically within existing roles across all its teams, including legal and creative.

“There’s no AI officer or AI strategist or AI creative,” said Debora den Iseger, senior vice president, head of content and innovation, studios, Media.Monks. “The KPI (key performance indicator) is embedded in the existing roles, therefore, not changing the structure.”

For all of the talk about the jobs AI is expected to replace (that’s 85 million, according to the World Economic Forum), it’s also expected to create some 97 million new roles by 2025.

And the buzziest of these new roles is the position overseeing it all: the Chief AI Officer (CAIO).

Major brands like UnitedHealth, Deloitte and Intel have already tapped big names. Even the U.S. government is on board, announcing computer scientist and attorney Jonathan Mayer will serve as the Department of Justice’s first CAIO.

Marketing agencies need to get on the bandwagon too. Given the recent Under Armour controversy over allegedly reusing the work of others without proper credit in its new AI-powered commercial featuring boxer Anthony Joshua, brands must decide how they want to incorporate AI into the organization, especially marketing and creative services.

The music industry has demonstrated the power of a great mashup; AI-generated art has the potential to be the marketing version of this success, as long as the CAIO helps the organization establish rules of conduct and disclosure principles.

But what should the role look like? What does a CAIO do? Here are some of the key elements and responsibilities brands must consider in candidates for this role.

Serve as a liaison between departments

The ideal CAIO will collaborate with different departments in all the major functions of the company. That includes HR, marketing, sales and product development, because anytime there is a piece of content created, AI can help make it better and faster.

And, just as agencies have social media control rooms to cover key events in real time, there needs to be an equivalent for AI. The chief AI officer should be the point person connecting each key department to AI supply chains.

Marketing is currently the easiest way for AI tools to have an immediate impact. The CAIO should be building relationships with the marketing team first, because that’s where most of the internal and external-facing content is generated.

Next, they should look at HR for job descriptions and posting material to internal websites, employee manuals and onboarding materials, before finally examining enablement and sales materials.

Lead experimentation and deployment

The CAIO’s team should experiment with building partnerships and relationships with all the latest AI tools (there are thousands of them) before deciding where and how they should be deployed.

That experimentation needs someone who can prioritize, streamline and guide the process. There are many AI options out there, and an intelligent filtration system is essential to stay competitive.

Understand the intricacies of an organization

For this unique position, employers must prioritize a sense of curiosity from potential candidates. This includes a passion for innovation—someone who could have been a technologist if they’d chosen a different path.

This sense of imagination needs to be balanced with a practical approach. The successful candidate should be an “organizational psychologist,” someone who understands how organizations are run, how different groups interact with each other, and how they contribute to the greater good. They should also always keep the larger organizational mission in mind.

The one thing your potential CAIO doesn’t need is a knowledge of how large language models are written. They don’t need to know how neural networks are built; they just need to have enough understanding to allow them to be an applied scientist. This opens the position to more diverse and varied candidates.

Set standards for success

Following the onboarding process, establish the time it takes for basic, core functions within each department, then compare the overall quality of the output before and after AI deployment. This can develop into new thinking—is there a way to evaluate new output with and without the use of AI? More ideas, better ideas, faster ideas. These should be the priorities of a successful CAIO.

The bottom line

The CAIO role is about to become an essential component across all industries, but marketing is where the position can make the most immediate impact.

By defining what the job should look like, as well as the type of candidate you’re looking for, you can create a position that will allow you to stay competitive in this fast-moving space.

Very quickly this role will become obsolete. Eventually, there will be no distinction between a process and whether AI contributed; there will just be the process. Just like we no longer use www in front of a website address, we won’t have to have someone designated as CAIO. But for the time being, we need an insurgent and a champion and very quickly, we won’t.

Cheil North America is relatively small compared to its holding company counterparts. It boasts 800 employees across seven agencies, but it’s taking the first step to better align its shops in the pursuit of organic growth with the introduction of Joe Maglio’s dual role.

Maglio, who was already the CEO of McKinney, will also hold the CEO position at Barbarian. He takes over for Steven Moy, who ADWEEK revealed is taking the CEO reins at indie shop L&C.

Under Maglio, McKinney has tripled in size, added a health practice, acquired influencer agency August United and landed signature clients Popeyes and Little Caesars. Like many digital agencies in the current industry landscape, Barbarian hit a “rough patch” as Maglio described it, but is now back in a period of growth with clients like American Express, which tapped the shop as its social AOR. Maglio also takes on a president role at Cheil North America, while McKinney managing director Bill Mattis will lead growth for Cheil North America.

“The desire is to bring the Barbarian brand back to prominence back to where it had been,” Maglio said. “Since they were founded, their whole thing was to disrupt the digital landscape. Every time some new technology comes out, we’re going to be at the forefront of it.”

ADWEEK asked Maglio for his perspective on what readers can learn from his career, his new agency and the industry.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

Career advice

ADWEEK: You started as an account exec, a common path to leadership at an agency. What advice do you have for current account execs to reach leadership?

Joe Maglio: My value as an account person is to really balance the true needs of the client with the needs of the agency and make those mutually beneficial. That’s really what I I tried to do for the bulk of my career, and when you do that well over time, you start to get recognized as somebody who is able to build, maintain and retain client relationships, while also helping the agency grow. That is a real skill that account people should be cultivating over their careers.

Not many CEOs hold dual roles like you now do. Brad Simms is chief exec at Gale and CPB, while the recently retired Kristen Cavallo was chief exec for MullenLowe and The Martin Agency. What’s the key to leading two agencies?

Having trusted leadership is so key. Recognizing that I’m going to have professional FOMO. I’m just going to have to manage myself. There will be conversations that I really want to be part of and help, but that’s the whole reason I made sure I had great people in leadership. I have to emotionally pull myself out of certain things and really recast my contributions. You can just add more and more time to your day by taking on more responsibility, but then you’re going to mess it all up.

Advice on holding dual roles from Kristen Cavallo

“Make sure you understand how you are motivated. Do you need time alone? Time with others? Praise? Get clear on that because the agencies will succeed if you succeed. Give yourself the best odds.”

Building an agency

So many indie agencies reside in cities outside the recognized talent hubs for this industry, and McKinney has been headquartered in Durham, N.C. for 50 years. What’s key to attracting talent to N.C. that other agencies can learn from?

We try our best to have a unified culture. We operate under a single P&L, so you can be in any of those locations [McKinney is in Durham, New York, L.A., Phoenix and Dallas] and still have the same career and still have a very similar employee experience. We focus on employee experience pretty significantly, and when you are in markets outside of New York and L.A., you need to double down on that a bit. [McKinney’s retention rate is 92%].

Views on the industry

What’s something in the industry that you’ve done a complete 180 on?

The power of influencers. And that might sound odd because we acquired an influencer agency … My viewpoint that changed was I thought it was going to be a slower burn, in terms of how important influencers became. There’s articles all the time about how influencers are becoming a bigger part of the marketing mix. Agencies are now hiring creators and we’re doing the same now. I knew influencers would be a positive thing for us to have and it was creating upward momentum, but it’s becoming such a bigger part of what we do.

Starbucks is the latest brand to shelve the global chief marketer role.

Instead, it has unveiled a new structure that will see regional chief executive officers (CEOs) take responsibility for the business in each market, working alongside regional marketers.

The coffee chain has promoted current evp, chief marketing offer (CMO), Brady Brewer — who joined with a global remit in 2020 — to CEO for its international business.

In a statement, the company said Brewer would work alongside veteran Starbucks exec Michael Conway, who has taken on the newly created position of CEO for North America, to reinvent the business internally.

The pair will work to “elevate” the Starbucks brand, which has faced headwinds in recent months including a boycott in the U.S. and fierce competition in China.

Though the 52-year-old chain said it will not replace the “global chief marketing position,” it is in the market for what it described as a “global brand creative leader.”

Starbucks’ move to ditch the global CMO position comes as many brands are rethinking where the sometimes-nebulous role sits within their business, changing the title to reflect a broader range of responsibilities, hiring “fractional” CMOs in consulting-style positions and, in some cases, cutting it entirely.

Brewer and Conway will report to Starbucks’ global CEO, Laxman Narasimhan. Within this new structure, each geographic CEO will have regional marketing support. The company retains some regional CMOs, including Kyndra Russel who is responsible for North America.

The restructure forms part of Starbucks’ “Triple Shot with Two Pumps” transformation plan, which is dedicated to three things: strengthening the Starbucks brand; upgrading its digital offering; and helping the chain become “a truly” global business.

As per the company’s lexicon, this three-pronged approach will be complimented with “two pumps,” or two further focuses — unlocking efficiency and reinvigorating its internal culture.

Narasimhan claimed the brand was making “strong progress” against the plan.

“To further accelerate [this], consistent with our ambitions, we are realigning the organization to balance clear geographical focus with investing in functional capabilities to scale around the world, generating productivity and reinvigorating our [employee] culture,” he said.

What now for Starbucks?

Post-pandemic, America’s largest roaster has been looking to drive relevance by positioning itself as somewhere where people can find human connection during their coffee runs. This has helped drive sales, with revenue rising 8% to a record $9.43 billion in the final three months of 2023.

However, it is operating in a tough market.

In Jan 2024, the business cut its yearly sales forecasts and missed market expectations amid U.S. and Middle East boycotts, following a pro-Palestine tweet from the union that prompted calls for a boycott on the right and the left.

Narasimhan told investors these boycotts had a “significant impact on traffic and sales”.

Starbucks has also seen negative headlines over how it’s handling relations with workers attempting to unionize, and has seen consumer spending weaken in China (one of its key markets), putting its share price on the back foot.

The Seattle-founded business will be hoping an operational shakedown can help address some of these issues.

“As we look to the future, the opportunity we have is truly limitless,” said Narasimhan. “Throughout our history, we have continued to reinvent not who we are or what we stand for, but what we do and how we connect with our customers and deliver our long-term aspirations. Because of our partners, and with our strategic plan and world class-leadership team, the best days of Starbucks are ahead of us.” 

Change brewing for the CMO role

According to data from recruitment firm Spencer Stuart, among the top marketers at Fortune 500 companies, just 36% have the conventional chief marketing officer title. Johnson & Johnson, AB InBev U.S. and Uber are among those to have dropped the CMO position entirely in recent years.

Elsewhere, CMOs like Brewer are moving up the ranks. Christine Hsu Evans, one of ADWEEK’s Marketing Vanguard Award honorees, spent 21 months as CMO of Headspace before being promoted to president last summer; longtime Mars Petcare CMO Leonid Sudakov was recently named president for growth, digital and platforms; and in 2023, Molson Coors elevated Michelle St. Jacques to the new role of chief commercial officer, overseeing sales, marketing, innovation and digital.

As part of its reshuffle, Starbucks has also hired a new chief merchant and product officer, former Saputo exec Lyne Castonguay.

ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery’s upcoming sports streaming platform has scored a former Apple exec as CEO.

Top line

Today, the three companies named Pete Distad as CEO of their new joint sports streamer.

Distad most recently served as an executive at Apple for a decade and also spent six years at Hulu.

Between the lines

As CEO, Distad will oversee all aspects of the joint venture, including strategy, distribution, marketing and sales.

“Pete is an accomplished innovator and leader who has extensive experience with launching and growing new video services,” ESPN, Fox and WBD said in a joint statement. “We are confident he and his team will build an extremely compelling, fan-focused product for our target market.”

Upon the establishment of the streamer, Distad will report to its board of directors, which will include representatives selected by each of the three companies. He will be based in L.A., along with the independent management team he will assemble.

“This is an incredible opportunity to build and grow a differentiated product that will serve passionate sports fans in the U.S. outside of the traditional pay TV bundle,” Distad said. “I’m excited to be able to pull together the industry-leading sports content portfolios from these three companies to deliver a new best-in-class service.”

Distad was at Apple from 2013-2023, where he was responsible for the business, operations and global distribution for video, sports and Apple TV+. He also launched Apple TV in 2015 and later led teams that launched and scaled the Apple TV app, Apple TV+ and MLS Season Pass.

He also previously worked at Hulu, where he served as svp of marketing and distribution and was part of the Hulu launch team, overseeing customer acquisition and retention, distribution and marketing.

Bottom line

Fox, ESPN and WBD surprisingly announced the combined sports streamer in February, with a launch date scheduled for the fall of 2024. The product will combine 14 linear networks, including Fox and its portfolio of affiliates, ESPN and its products, and WBD’s cablers, and could completely change the sports streaming space and rights moving forward.

Speaking during an earnings call last month, Lachlan Murdoch, Fox CEO and executive chair, said the new venture would create additional revenue streams by reaching new consumers.

“It’s a new market where there’s no product serving the sports fans that are not within the cable TV bundle,” Murdoch said. “So it accesses a whole new market and drives a tremendous amount of new reach.”

On this week’s episode of Marketing Vanguard, host Jenny Rooney sits down with Squarespace chief creative officer David Lee to discuss the intricacies of creativity, brand strategy and the evolving role of in-house capabilities.

During the conversation, Lee shares his journey from the agency world to Squarespace and the company’s focus on design, creativity and personal brand representation as core pillars of its mission. They discuss the brand’s presence at the Super Bowl and how its marketing initiatives expand beyond the Big Game.

He also shares why he believes that creativity is inherent to it all and the increasingly vital role it will play in the future of work.

Stream the new episode below and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or find it on Spotify.

The legal fallout between MediaLink founder Michael Kassan and its owner, United Talent Agency (UTA), has caught the world’s entertainment and advertising industries by surprise, including many within the management consultancy itself.

Now MediaLink, without its figurehead, is facing questions about its leadership plans moving forward, as the succession plan for Kassan has long been an unresolved issue. 

At the heart of the dispute is a “Special Expenses” account that Kassan had requested in the Purchase and Sale Agreement during the 2022 $125 million sale of MediaLink by Ascential to UTA. Kassan alleges breach of contract in a $25 million lawsuit filed against UTA, CEO Jeremy Zimmer and two other executives that UTA backtracked on giving him the $1.5 million expense fund to “create new business opportunities for MediaLink.”

UTA provided ADWEEK with a copy of its lawsuit against Kassan, alleging that the fund has been misused by Kassan to pay off debts and other personal expenses.

Following news of Kassan’s departure and subsequent legal action, UTA released a further statement from its counsel, Bryan Freedman.

“Michael Kassan was terminated by UTA on March 7 and made aware well before that that UTA had grounds to fire him,” Freedman said. “His claim against UTA has no merit and is an attempt to divert attention from the misappropriation of company funds that led to his termination.”

The consultancy holds a unique place in the industry, helping brands work through marketing transformation projects, conducting agency reviews and placing executives in new marketing roles. While Kassan had built a team around him to handle the client work, he’s been the relationship builder who’s made MediaLink into the industry leader in the space, and industry execs are skeptical MediaLink will be as attractive to CMOs without him.

“There is a strong executive leadership team in place at MediaLink that continues to carry the business forward,” said a UTA spokesperson when asked about a succession plan. The company declined to explain further who will lead the business.

A perfect match goes south

In a 2023 interview with Beet.TV at CES, Kassan spoke about how he saw his role as being “in the middle of a lot of conversations” within the marketing and media sectors. He also spoke about his relationship with UTA after five years with Ascential.

“I saw a better life for MediaLink in a different environment and what UTA promised me, and delivered in spades … was the proximity to the creator economy. The proximity of content creation … and the proximity to the most important people who create the content in the world,” he explained.

He viewed UTA’s ability to connect Medialink with culture and content as an unparalleled advantage in the marketplace.

He also praised the internal culture at UTA, saying “I’ve never been in a culture that’s more inviting, that’s more welcoming and more strategic.”

Kassan had a reputation for being one of the industry’s most prolific networkers, continually wining and dining clients and maintaining a high profile, always up for emceeing industry events featuring executives and celebrities. That reputation for entertainment did not deter UTA from purchasing the business, according to its suit against Kassan. 

“In order to secure UTA’s investment, Kassan presented himself as a trustworthy businessman, who had operated within the stringent controls and regulations of a publicly traded company. That turned out not to be the case,” according to the suit.

But Kassan and UTA’s leadership clashed over not just the expense budget but the formation of UTA’s Brand Partnerships arm, according to a source familiar with MediaLink. The source told ADWEEK that Kassan believed the new division could bridge UTA and MediaLink. He had expected that it would report to him to create some connective tissue with MediaLink; however, that never transpired.

This is alluded to within Kassan’s action: “Respondents engaged in a deliberate secret scheme to fraudulently induce Kassan to agree to a sale of MediaLink only to then walk back the very promises made in the purchase contract, specifically regarding what Kassan would oversee at UTA and his ‘Special Expenses.”

The days of gifting are over

Another intermediary executive who wishes to remain anonymous told ADWEEK that the days of extravagant client entertainment were gone, as fees had become much tighter in recent years and corporate transparency had become stricter.

Multiple ad agency execs, who requested anonymity because of preexisting relationships with MediaLink, agreed with that assertion, saying that clients are increasingly turned off by exorbitant spending. They said ad agencies over the past few decades have faced a similar reckoning as clients (and their procurement teams) don’t want to see their marketing dollars funding gifts and private flights. 

In other words—Kassan’s strategy was one that was already falling out of favor even before he and UTA began trading accusations over the use of the $1.5 million expense fund.

Is Kassan bigger than MediaLink?

Nearly a half dozen ad agency execs and search consultants who spoke with ADWEEK expressed similar sentiments of “Michael Kassan is MediaLink” and “MediaLink is Michael Kassan.”

But multiple sources said MediaLink has built out an infrastructure that could survive Kassan’s departure, with several sources calling out three current executies—Lena Petersen, chief brand officer and managing director; Mark Wagman, managing director; and Emma Gryce, chief financial officer—as critically important to MediaLink’s future success.

One agency source described MediaLink as the strongest offering in the business for marketing transformation at the moment, and that’s largely in part not because of Kassan but the team now around him—an assertion echoed by multiple ad execs who have been invited to a number of MediaLink reviews.

But the industry is intrigued over who will take over for Kassan as the face of the business, and multiple sources are expecting that some clients will walk out the door without Kassan at the helm.

ADWEEK’s sources indicated a number of CMOs will remain loyal to Kassan because of MediaLink’s executive talent and search department. After Kassan rejected a $10 million severance, he is able to create a new business and potentially take some of his clients with him. One source pointed out this would likely only be a small dent in MediaLink’s business because Kassan would lack the infrastructure to take on a meaningful number of clients, at first. 

One former MediaLink executive described Kassan as “a very kind individual” whose generosity had built the business, citing the Pfizer global advertising account appointment, which went to Publicis and IPG last year, as being a piece of business he had personally conducted. 

With no leadership announced for the business following Kassan’s departure, for the short term at least, succession is a problem for the consultancy. No obvious internal candidate is understood to be seen as being able to step up immediately, perhaps surprising considering Kassan is 73. It is clear he had no intention to retire in the short term.

In the past, Kassan has attempted to hire a global president to work with him, but one source close to the business told ADWEEK that Ascential balked at the prospect of paying a second executive wage, and so one was never hired.

The creative leadership machine at FCB keeps churning. As Susan Credle starts her transition from FCB to global creative advisor for IPG. FCB Chicago hired Pedro Pérez as chief creative officer, taking over from Andrés Ordóñez, who was promoted to global CCO at FCB.

Credle, who will continue to serve as chair of global network FCB throughout the remainder of 2024, will eventually land as IPG’s first creative advisor. 

As CCO, Pérez will partner with FCB Chicago CEO Kelly Graves and chief strategy officer Mollie Partesotti to lead the network’s largest office. He will also become a member of FCB’s global creative council, collaborating with creative leaders from across the network to elevate the work.

“At FCB, we’re on a mission to bring together the best creative talent in the industry and prove that creativity is an economic multiplier,” said Ordóñez in a statement. “Pedro’s experience delivering incredible creative work that has led to brand fame and business growth makes him the perfect creative leader for FCB Chicago.” 

Pérez joins FCB from Dentsu Creative, where he was CCO for the Chicago office, overseeing creative operations and contributing to the execution of Dentsu Creative’s U.S. and global initiatives. Pérez helped launch “Scrolling Therapy,” an artificial intelligence tool that used facial recognition to allow Parkinson’s disease patients to exercise using social media, and he led the Chicago office into the top 10 rankings at Cannes Lions.

Prior to joining Dentsu, Pérez spent three years as CCO for Energy BBDO, where he was the creative lead behind Extra Gum’s “For When It’s Time” campaign, which celebrated the world opening back up post-pandemic.

“What excites me so much is that in FCB, the entire agency is united around the belief that creativity could be applied to solve any business problem, and it could provide an amazing impact in their business, and ultimately grow their business,” Pérez told ADWEEK, adding that talking to CEOs Tyler Turnbull (FCB Global) and Graves about how FCB rallies around the power of creativity cemented his decision to come to the agency.

A creative leader with over 20 years of experience, Pérez has worked with top brands including Bayer, Brown-Forman, Disney, Mars Wrigley and Principal Financial.

A return to his career roots

Pérez is no stranger to the IPG network. His first creative opportunity was working as an intern at FCB Puerto Rico during college, which helped him land hia first job as a junior copywriter. He later worked for Draftfcb and Badillo Satchi & Saatchi in Puerto Rico before heading to Chicago. An FCB “Creative Rumble” in Chicago inspired him to move to the city.

At FCB, Pérez sees an opportunity to expand his creative reach, especially as Credle helps tie the global creative teams at IPG together when it makes sense.

“When you have an ability to expand your bench, when you think about having the opportunity to find the correct people and collaborate, that’s something that is very exciting for me,” said Pérez. 

Pérez has won over 60 international awards, including a Grand Prix at Cannes Lions; D&AD’s Graphite, Yellow and Wood Pencils; Grand Effies; and multiple trophies at The One Show and the Clio Awards. Pérez also made ADWEEK’s Creative 100 in 2020. 

FCB Chicago has seen positive growth in the past year, adding brands to the client roster including Danone, Terminix and the U.S. Postal Service, and growing business with long-standing clients including Cox Communications, Prestige and Clorox.

“As we look to the future, we will continue to develop the incredible creative platforms we have built in partnership with our clients, and I’m confident that Pedro is the right creative leader to take FCB Chicago into its next era of creative excellence,” Graves said in a statement.

Having multiple chief creative officers isn’t the norm for most agencies, but AKQA has quintupled down the CCO role with the recent promotion of two creatives. That means AKQA has five CCOs with global remit.

Shu Hung and Johnny Budden have been promoted to chief creative officers at AKQA, up from executive creative directors, joining Peter Lund, Diego Machado and Hugo Viega, who were promoted in 2020. 

“These promotions recognize the massive and enormous impact that Shu and Johnny have had, both as creative leaders and their ability to build such a positive culture as fantastic role models, both within AKQA and across our industry,” AKQA founder and CEO Ajaz Ahmed told ADWEEK, adding that he appreciates their international experience and independent spirit.

Hung was previously ecd of AKQA Los Angeles, joining in 2022. Her career has found her in brand-side roles that include leadership positions at Nike Women, Nike Sportswear, Uniqlo and as the founder of store Table of Contents. Beyond her creative prowess, she is widely admired for her commitment to championing diversity initiatives, including as an executive sponsor of Kin, Everlane’s AAPI Employee Resource Group.

Budden has been with AKQA for over a decade, which began by spearheading the launch of the AKQA Paris studio with brands including Red Bull, Nike, Hermés, Dior and Chanel. Subsequently, he took the helm of creative leadership at the New York studio, creating campaigns for brands including Nike, NBA, Beats by Dr. Dre, Maybelline and Converse. 

How having five global CCOs works

Ahmed noted that, for an agency AKQA’s size of 5,500 people across 30 countries, having only five CCOs is fewer than others of similar size. But the fact that all are global means the view from the top of the creative team is one of collaboration.

“What these appointments reinforce is that we’re so lucky that we’ve got an unfair share of exceptional people at AKQA who share the same beliefs about the contribution we can make but I couldn’t be prouder that we’ve got visionary, creative leadership that is so empowered to collaborate,” said Ahmed.

Each CCO is responsible for certain key client relationships in their regions, though the exact remits are still being worked out. But everything is collaborative, so there will be some cross-pollination between the chief creatives, which Ahmed said is sure to be especially true when there are new business opportunities.

Hung said she brings empathy to her role, by knowing what client partners are going through and finding the right solutions to their problems.

“We want to be who you call the middle of the night with your business problem, with your creative problem,” said Hung, adding that those solutions can include working with creators when responding to what’s happening in culture makes sense.

A focus on mentorship and retention

Budden said that fostering a culture of mentorship is important at the agency for retention and career growth.

“[We will] continue to foster an environment where everyone feels they can bring their whole self to work, and where our differences are celebrated,” said Budden.

AKQA has many employee resource groups and other ways to celebrate diversity, but as CCOs, Ahmed said that each must inspire their teams and accept many diverse points of view in the work.

“A key responsibility for the chief creative officer is the cultivation of a diverse and inclusive creative culture,” said Ahmed.

Fostering an inclusive environment allows AKQA to influence culture, thanks to the new voices the agency encourages to come forward. That means the role of the CCO extends beyond the oversight of projects to strategic leadership, mentorship and inspiration to push the boundaries of creativity.

“We believe when you pour an insatiable amount of care into something, you can feel it as part of the human condition, you can sense care,” said Budden.