Chaka Sobhani wins top global creative role at Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett London CCO Chaka Sobhani (below) has received a well-earned elevation, to global CCO of the Publicis-owned agency worldwide. Liz Taylor is leaving the Leo Burnett post after just two years.
The Publicis Groupe creative agencies in London – Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi in particular – have kept their end up well under country boss Annette King, for all the seemingly endless revolution at their French owner with CEO Arthur Sadoun’s ‘Power of One.’ Sometimes a little stability goes a long way, as King surely learned during her long stint at Ogilvy.
Sobhani, who’s keeping her London role, says: “I’m truly honoured to take on this mantle, working closely with all our global CCOs and ECDs to push for even greater creative excellence at Leo Burnett around the world and bringing in the next generation of talent from different backgrounds..in London, we continue to go from strength-to-strength, winning new business and delivering ideas for our clients that transform and grow their businesses.”
Global CCO can be a pretty thankless task and Sobhani, a noted enthusiast, needs to establish a strong relationship with Burnett US boss Andrew Swinand. She will also have to dovetail with Le Truc, Publicis’ new multi-agency creative hub in New York and its leading lights including Neil Heyman from Droga5.