AKQA confirmed this week that creative director Simone Nobili is no longer with the agency. According to his LinkedIn page, he is currently working as a freelance creative director/copywriter.
Nobili joined AKQA as a creative director last August and has focused on the agency’s Activision (Black Ops III and Infinite Warfare) and Levi Strauss & Co. accounts.
Before joining AKQA he spent a little over a year as a creative director with Cutwater, also in in San Francisco, working across all accounts including Google, Georgia Pacific, Ubisoft and Luxottica. That followed around two and a half years as a creative director with San Diego agency Vitro, working with brands including Toyo Tires, ASICS and Taylor Guitars.
Nobili began his career in Europe, making the leap across the pond to join TBWA\Chiat\Day L.A. as a CD in November of 2008 after holding the same position in the London office and spending two years as a senior copywriter at Jung von Matt in Hamburg. He also worked as a CD at Digitas New York and Amirati, where he worked on brands including Kawasaki Motorcycles, Autumn Games and Marvel vs. Capcom.
An AKQA spokesperson declined to comment on the reasons for the split. We hear that Nobili had been working with the agency as a non-billable staffer after leaving the Levi’s team.