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W+K’s Balarins in surprise switch to London as CCOs

Married duo Ana and Hermeti Balarin, who left Mother just 18 months ago to be ECDs at Wieden & Kennedy HQ in Portland, are returning to London to become CCOs at W+K London.

W+K veteran Susan Hoffman, who’s been holding the fort at W+K London, is returning to Portland. W+K London hasn’t had a permanent CCO since Tony Davidson and Ian Tait left in 2021. W+K is facing a new era worldwide following the death of agency co-founder Dan Wieden at 77 earlier this year.

The Balarins (above) say: “We had an incredible American adventure and learned Wieden & Kennedy from the source. We are beyond excited to come back home and team up with Ryan (Fisher, president) and Dan (Hill, CSO) to help build the next era of W&K London.

“There’s so much happening there, from the launch of Bodega, the agency’s social-first creative studio to the evolution of their brand design offering, to key new-business wins and some great work.”

A neat round of musical chairs perhaps but it seems fair to say that the Balarins probably expected their sojourn in Portland to be longer. Their departure to W+K came as a surprise to Mother who searched the world for a replacement, eventually Felix Richter from Droga5 in New York.

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