Ogilvy Names Rafael Rizuto as Chief Creative Officer for North America

Ogilvy announced today that Rafael Rizuto has been named chief creative officer for North America. Rafael will be responsible for the agency’s creative product across its capability areas in the US and Canada, one of Ogilvy’s leading global markets. Rafael returns to Ogilvy having worked for the agency twice before in Dubai and his native Brazil, among career roles at BBH, TBWA’s 180LA, Leo Burnett, the founding of his own agency, TBD, and most recently as Dentsu Creative’s chief creative officer US and Hispanic LATAM.

Liz Taylor, global chief creative officer of Ogilvy, said, “An extraordinary talent and incredible human being, Rafa is someone I have admired for so long. Like Ogilvy, he believes in creativity’s ability to drive business – it’s an ability he himself has proven across his work, at agencies and as an entrepreneur. I am overjoyed at his return to Ogilvy, and for all the ways he will add to our work. Welcome home, Rafa.”

Rafael said, “Ogilvy has always been a place where idea-led creativity thrives – and changes lives. It changed my life, when I landed at this agency nearly 20 years ago, and it’s why I’m honoured to return again, now under the powerhouse leadership of Liz and Dev. I’ve never seen an agency do the business of creativity better than Ogilvy is doing it right now. I can’t wait to carry that forward as CCO of Ogilvy North America.”

Rafael is an award-winning international creative whose work includes Cannes Grand Prix campaigns like Boost Mobile’s ‘Boost Your Voice’, UNICEF’s ‘UNfairy Tales’ and Eurofarma’s ‘Scrolling Therapy’, as well as Airbnb’s first-ever global campaign, ‘Views’, and Coca-Cola’s largest-ever Latin American campaign pushes with ‘Happiness Refill’ and ‘Crossroads’. He joins Ogilvy from Dentsu Creative, where he served as creative lead on T-Mobile and helped spur a 60+% conversion rate on new business in 2023, with client wins like Apple TV+, Lowe’s, Principal Financial, Walmart and Subway. Rafael’s career work additionally spans such brands as Heineken, Mattel, Hellmann’s, Mitsubishi, Expedia, StubHub, Havaianas and Netflix.

Rafael helped 180LA become the most awarded shop in all of TBWA’s Worldwide Network for two years in a row (2016, 2017), and garner Ogilvy’s first-ever ‘Network of the Year’ title in 2012 by contributing to Ogilvy Brazil’s 15+ Cannes Lions that year. In addition to abundant industry wins across Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, The One Show, Clio Awards, D&AD Awards, London International Awards, Effie Awards, and Jay Chiat Awards among others, Rafael has been recognised as one of Ad Age’s ’40 Under 40’ and Business Insider’s ’30 Most Creative People in Advertising’.

Rafael joins Ogilvy on the heels of its recognition by WARC as the World’s Most Creative Agency Network and World’s Most Effective Creative Network for consecutive years, Ad Age’s Global Network of the Year and among Fast Company’s list of World’s Most Innovative Companies for the second year in a row.