Leo Burnett Names Andrew Swinand North American CEO; Acquires Two Digital Agencies

Leo Burnett, a part of Publicis Groupe’s creative Solution Publicis Communications announces today the appointment of Andrew Swinand as North American CEO, marking the agency’s ongoing commitment to defining the next generation of marketing. This nomination builds on the recent positive momentum achieved by the wins of Jim Beam and MillerCoors, combined with record performances at the 2016 Cannes Lions and Clio Awards. Swinand, 48, will take on this role as of Monday 9th January.

In addition to naming Swinand CEO, Leo Burnett announces the acquisition of two companies from Swinand’s: Abundant Venture Partners – The Abundancy and Ardent. These agencies will add to Leo Burnett’s growing arsenal of data, creative and technology capabilities. Ardent provides proprietary technology that uses search data to understand behavior and predict consumer intent, and The Abundancy applies these learnings to inform custom content. Together, they count sixty employees who will join the Leo Burnett team this month.

“I am thrilled to be joining such a world-renowned creative powerhouse as Leo Burnett North America. The challenge every brand faces is to get chosen. Thanks to our technology, it’s possible to predict what people want so that brands can respond with experiences that are truly meaningful. By combining our data-driven insights with Leo Burnett’s award-winning creative capabilities, we will make Leo Burnett’s HumanKind approach more powerful than ever before in helping our clients.” declared Swinand.

Publicis Communications CEO Arthur Sadoun said, “We have made significant investments in data and technology that strengthen the capabilities of both Leo Burnett and the wider Publicis Communications hub in North America with one objective in mind: constantly developing stronger and brighter creative ideas for our clients. Andrew’s arrival, combined with the acquisition of The Abundancy and Ardent analytics, will give Leo Burnett the power to seamlessly blend data and creativity at every stage of the customer journey."

Prior to taking on the role of CEO, Swinand co-founded Abundant Venture Partners, a Chicago- based incubator and investment firm focusing on improving the human condition. He is also the former president of Starcom MediaVest Group and led marketing at Procter & Gamble’s first venture into e-commerce.

Rich Stoddart will continue in his role leading Leo Burnett globally as president of the network, and will partner closely with Andrew to ensure the success of this transformation.