Helen Andrews Joins Johannes Leonardo as CEO

Creative industry veteran and global leader Helen Andrews joins Johannes Leonardo as CEO. In this role Helen will lead the agency’s next chapter of global growth, building on the company’s current momentum as one of the world’s top independent creative agencies.

Helen has more than 20 years of global leadership experience across the creative industry. She has spearheaded partnerships for clients including British Airways, Nike, Heinz, Coca-Cola, TJX, Visa, Honda, Glaxo-Smith Klein, and Formula 1. For much of her career, Helen led Wieden + Kennedy London, driving creative, cultural and commercial excellence across the business. Helen charted the agency to some of its most award-winning work including Nike’s 'Nothing Beats a Londoner' and a global rebrand for Formula 1. She also served as a member of the global leadership group charged with forging the future of creativity across the network, resulting in the network’s acknowledgement as Ad Age Agency of the Year, Adweek’s #1 Network, and Fast Company’s Most Innovative Marketers, all in the same year.

Helen Andrews shares, “I’ve always believed in the power of culture to drive commercial success for agencies and their clients - and from the moment I met the folks at JL I felt like I was home. It’s clear it’s a special place and has huge potential to do even more brilliant things on behalf of great clients - I’m hugely excited to be part of that and to show the world more of what we can do.”

“From the very first moment you meet Helen, her passion for, and belief in, the value a creative agency can provide a client is abundantly clear” says Leo Premutico, co-founder and creative chair of the agency. “We cannot wait for her to bring that conviction to Johannes Leonardo and help us continue to demonstrate how creativity can be the biggest driver of business impact”

Jan Jacobs, co-founder and creative chair said "Helen understands, and has demonstrated, the outsized role the human quotient plays for a creative agency. How by nurturing a culture you can define the next era of growth”

Helen is joining at a time of renaissance for the agency. Johannes Leonardo celebrated its best year in business in 2023 with 24% revenue growth and is continuing to add to its global client roster. Helen is the most recent addition to an invigorated leadership team assembled to drive the agency’s next chapter, Paula Daily joined as CFO and COO in May of 2023, Tasha Cronin joined as head of production in February of 2023, John McCarthy (a boomerang hire) as CMO in August of 2023, and most recently Dan Ng as chief strategy officer in January 2024. The agency’s client partners include some of the world’s most influential brands: adidas, Instagram, Kraft-Heinz, Volkswagen and Uber.

Helen takes the position last held by Emily Wilcox who left the agency in March after eight years with JL to become CEO of TBWA New York.

Helen serves on the board of the Ghetto Film School, and has been a long-time mentor in the She Says leadership development program. Helen will relocate to New York for the position with her husband and two pups Dolly (miniature schnauzer) and Pearl (Norfolk terrier).