Gut Names Juan Javier Peña Plaza and Ricardo Casal NA CCOs

Ricardo Casal and Juan Javier Peña Plaza have been on the fast track since they burst onto the scene at David in 2011. The Ecuadorian duo started as junior creatives in Buenos Aires and quickly established themselves as a creative powerhouse, rising through the ranks and winning multiple awards in their eight years at David for campaigns like Burger King’s “Whopper Neutrality” and “Google Home of the Whopper.” After making the move in 2019 to join Gut as partners and executive creative directors, the duo kept winning, helping land Tim Hortons for the agency and creating numerous award-winning campaigns along the way, including a Cannes Lion Grand Prix, a D&AD Black Pencil and a One Show Best of Discipline Pencil for Gut Miami’s Google “Real Tone” Super Bowl campaign. They also were named to Adweek’s Creative 100 in 2017 and 2018 and made the Adweek 50 in 2021. Now Casal and Peña Plaza are being rewarded again, as the two have been named North America chief creative officers at Gut, charged with growth and creative leadership at the agency’s Los Angeles, Toronto and Miami offices. The pair of confessed “ad nerds” will continue in their roles as global partners for the Gut Network. “Ricky and Juan are so passionate about creativity that one of their hobbies is advertising,” said Anselmo Ramos, Gut’s co-founder and creative chairman in a statement. “They’re also the experts of proactivity, constantly thinking about our clients’ brands and how we can help them constantly be part of pop culture.” Ramos said that the duo’s promotion is directly connected to the growth of the agency and network. He said that, with almost 500 people and the agency heading into its fifth year, he and co-founder Gaston Bigio decided to promote them to solidify a commitment to creativity and help its employees grow, learn and thrive across the U.S. and in Canada. “We’ve been working together and learning from the founders and partners for over 10 years. We couldn’t have asked for better mentors, friends and partners,” Casal told Adweek. “This position means a lot, and it’s a huge honor, especially being one of the first Ecuadorians to ever take on a position like this for a North American agency or global network,” added Peña Plaza. A track to success while nurturing talent Since their arrival at Gut, Casal and Peña Plaza have helped with the overall growth of the agency, as well as overseeing the agency’s creative board. They also have been integral to the agency’s biggest achievements, including growing Gut’s Miami headquarters from 10 people in 2019 to over 100 today, with the creative department growing from five to 61 across the U.S. and Canada. Alongside managing director, global chief client officer and partner Carmen Rodriguez, the duo has helped land new clients in Miami, including Spanx, and Visible by Verizon. They also supported the Toronto office in winning GoodLife Fitness as AOR, along with brand relaunch work for K-Y Jelly and global projects for Spin Master’s Rubik’s Cube. “The growth and success the agency has experienced in these four years is something we are extremely proud of, both creatively and business-wise. But at the same time, our ambition pushes us to look forward and we know what brought us here won’t take us to the next stage,” said Peña Plaza. He added that the duo’s plans are to focus on creativity, proactivity and diversity to empower its teams across departments, and he made a point that under their leadership, Gut will continue to nurture the talent in each office. That means giving them the ability to fail and learn, as well as the freedom and responsibility to do what they think is right. Casal believes that Gut’s independence fuels the agency’s freedom to take risks, which raises creative standards, and ultimately is what keeps pushing the agency forward. “We’ve always wanted to be the most diverse, creative and influential network in the world, and that means we need to always focus on building a sustainable culture with higher creative standards that thrives because of the care for all our people,” added Casal. Gut Miami has also elevated Dean Paradise and Bruno Mazzotti from creative directors to executive creative directors and made numerous other creative promotions. 3 More Senior Leaders From David Miami Make the Move to Gut

Leadership & Talent

Gut Promotes Juan Javier Peña Plaza and Ricardo Casal to North America CCOs

The global partners will oversee the growth and creative of the LA, Toronto and Miami offices

Kyle O’Brien

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Kyle O’Brien